Analysis Of Betty Friedan´s The Feminine Mystique

“In almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated as second-class citizens. It would be a great service to tell girls who plan to work in society to expect this subtle, uncomfortable discrimination-- tell them not to be quiet, and hope it will go away, but fight it. A girl should not expect special privileges because of her gender, but neither should she “adjust” to prejudice and discrimination”. Betty Friedan wrote this quote in her 1950’s book, The Feminine Mystique, a book about the suburban housewife and the discrimination against women and girls. From Betty’s view, despite the changes that have happened due to the 1920’s women's suffrage, women were still being treated less than men. Most all women in the 1950’s was stereotyped as a suburban house wife, capable of nothing more than cooking, cleaning and looking pretty. Some women were frustrated by this, after all, women fought so hard for their voting rights, but even with voting rights women were still viewed as “dignity” and “delicate”. The whole 1940’s image of “Rosie the Riveter” seemed ridiculous in the eyes of most Americans. Whatever

A woman could work just as hard as a man but sadly most people in the 1950’s could not see that. In any job or sort of work, a woman will be treated as if they are less than a man or a “second class citizen” just because of their gender. Girls who want jobs and to earn their place in society will soon see that this was a hard thing for a woman to do. The women of the 1950s though must tell them to stand up for themselves for that is the only way that they can climb in society and defeat the “suburban housewife” mold that will try to be shoved upon them. A young women of the 1950’s could not accept privileges nor prejudices because of their gender or they are just as bad and hopeless as the “suburban