Hawk1981
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- Apr 1, 2020
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Restless and bored as a 1950s homemaker, recalling that she “married, had children, lived according to the feminine mystique as a suburban housewife,” Betty Friedan set out to write a magazine article based on her survey of fellow Smith College graduates to see if their experiences were similar. After researching psychology, media, advertisements and conducting interviews of suburban housewives, the result was a book published in 1963 called The Feminine Mystique.
Attacking the myth that all women wanted to be fulfilled as "housewife-mothers", the book quickly became a bestseller. Defining "Feminine Mystique" as an idea, mostly created by men, that women were naturally fulfilled by being housewives and mothers. Friedan notes through her research that 1950s media and advertising typically depicted women as happy housewives or unhappy careerists, in contrast to similar media and advertising of the 1930s that often displayed more confident and independent women, many in careers.
Friedan argues that the trend in the 1950s for younger marriage age, smaller percentage of women attending college and increasing birthrate was leading to a greater number of dissatisfied, unhappy women who wanted something more than husband, children and home.
The Feminine Mystique attacks the prevailing psychological and biological notions about determining women's roles. Noting that many women dropped out of school to marry, fearful that if they waited too long or became too educated they would not be able to attract a husband, contrasted with the expectations for men who were encouraged to find their human identity and complete their education. Friedan argues that the prevailing theory of femininity doesn't allow women to mature and find their human identity, stating that "the identity of woman is determined by her biology."
The book attacks Freud's idea that "the position of women will surely be what it is: in youth an adored darling and in mature years a loved wife" because "nature has determined woman's destiny through beauty, charm, and sweetness" and often leading to the labeling of women who wanted careers as being neurotic. Friedan contends that this argument elevates the "feminine mystique" into a scientific religion that most women were not prepared by education or by society's expectations to criticize.
Friedan notes that the schools for women focused on classes on marriage, family and courses deemed suitable for women. Studies in the Social Sciences taught women that they would be upsetting the social balance if they did not conform to their biological roles.
Contrary to the arguments that women were finding fulfillment and creating happy homes, many 1950s women who not finding their highest level of self-actualization, were driving their husbands away and causing their children to lose their own sense of themselves as separate human beings with their own lives.
Friedan concludes that by promoting education and meaningful work for American women, along with a drastic rethinking of what it means to be feminine, they could avoid being trapped in the "feminine mystique."
Attacking the myth that all women wanted to be fulfilled as "housewife-mothers", the book quickly became a bestseller. Defining "Feminine Mystique" as an idea, mostly created by men, that women were naturally fulfilled by being housewives and mothers. Friedan notes through her research that 1950s media and advertising typically depicted women as happy housewives or unhappy careerists, in contrast to similar media and advertising of the 1930s that often displayed more confident and independent women, many in careers.
Friedan argues that the trend in the 1950s for younger marriage age, smaller percentage of women attending college and increasing birthrate was leading to a greater number of dissatisfied, unhappy women who wanted something more than husband, children and home.
The Feminine Mystique attacks the prevailing psychological and biological notions about determining women's roles. Noting that many women dropped out of school to marry, fearful that if they waited too long or became too educated they would not be able to attract a husband, contrasted with the expectations for men who were encouraged to find their human identity and complete their education. Friedan argues that the prevailing theory of femininity doesn't allow women to mature and find their human identity, stating that "the identity of woman is determined by her biology."
The book attacks Freud's idea that "the position of women will surely be what it is: in youth an adored darling and in mature years a loved wife" because "nature has determined woman's destiny through beauty, charm, and sweetness" and often leading to the labeling of women who wanted careers as being neurotic. Friedan contends that this argument elevates the "feminine mystique" into a scientific religion that most women were not prepared by education or by society's expectations to criticize.
Friedan notes that the schools for women focused on classes on marriage, family and courses deemed suitable for women. Studies in the Social Sciences taught women that they would be upsetting the social balance if they did not conform to their biological roles.
Contrary to the arguments that women were finding fulfillment and creating happy homes, many 1950s women who not finding their highest level of self-actualization, were driving their husbands away and causing their children to lose their own sense of themselves as separate human beings with their own lives.
Friedan concludes that by promoting education and meaningful work for American women, along with a drastic rethinking of what it means to be feminine, they could avoid being trapped in the "feminine mystique."