Summary Of The Feminine Mystique

In, The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan sets out to describe “the problem that has no name” regarding femininity and social constructs surrounding women post world war two, in an attempt to define the patriarchy. Published in 1963, during a time when marriages peaked in teen years and women were dropping out of college to marry- her work is largely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States. Finding herself alongside other women in the struggle of often being pressured to maintain a societal approved, stereotypical femininity, Betty writes with an undertone of bias that firmly pushes the belief that femininity has no standard and certainly not one that can be controlled by men. Though written with bias, significant research is provided within the document to support most claims Betty speaks on.

Betty Friedan’s article on this topic proved to be successful because acknowledging the diversity among women is a suitable feminist strategy as far as enhancing their visibility is concerned. Though many argue the feminist movement was born out of a united front among women, Betty is the one who created that united front. Having shed light on such a taboo subject, Betty created the second-wave feminism movement because of her audacity to speak up and speak out when no one else would. Betty recognized her power as a woman and her obligation to speak on the subject, “I think I understood first as a woman long before I understood their larger social and psychological