Betty Friedan is a feminist, activist, and writer. Her most popular book, The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963, is credited for starting the second wave of feminism. This book focused on getting women out of their traditional roles. She also took part to help further the women’s rights movement as one of the founders of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She wrote other books including:
- The Feminine Mystique
- It Changed My Life
- The Second Stage
- The Fountain of Age
- Beyond Gender
- Life So Far
FUN FACT: As she starting the Feminine Mystique, she called it “the problem with no name”
POPULAR QUOTES:
- “No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor. ”
- “Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”
- “Each suburban wife struggles with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question– ‘Is this all?”
I personally haven’t read Betty Friedan yet but I’ve owned her books for so, so long. I’ve started the Feminine Mystique but for some reason, never finished it. I remember reading excerpts from it for my essay on feminism in high school. I focused a lot on the opening of the Feminine Mystique while talking about the second wave of feminism. She’s such an inspirational woman and definitely paved the way for so many other activists/feminists.
Have you heard of Betty Friedan? Have you read her books/writings?
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