The Feminine Mystique

It was the 1940's in post-war America, and there was a newfound sense of Nationalism. New suburban landscapes began to pop up as a result of reduced veteran housing, and famileis all over the US began to move in. From advertisements for kitchen appliances to cigarettes, a busy suburban mom became an iconic character in films and television. Mass branding of the new “mother” figure resulted in new roles for real women all over the country. However, Betty Friedan, a writer and mother living in New York throughout the 1950’s, challenged the role of homemaker by writing about her feelings of oppression, and proved that mothers didn’t have to chose between a family or a job.

In 1938, Betty Friedan attended Smith college, an all girls school at the time. After relocating in the mid 1940’s to New York City, she began working as a journalist for many publications, including Cosmopolitan and UE News. During her time at publications, she also witnessed the exclusion of women from workplaces all over the country because of their gender. Betty married a man in New York had her first son, Daniel, in 1948. After having her second son, Jonathan, she lost her job and became a housewife taking care of her two children. This new life startled Friedan, as she learned how unfulfilling and lonely she felt in her home. She occupied much of her time writing about her situation, and spoke to many women about their issues in the workforce and home. Unbeknownst to her husband or family, Friedan was beginning the novel that would open the eyes of women all over America.

At her 15th Smith college reunion, Betty Friedan came with an agenda. She conducted a survey of her former classmates, asking them about their education and their satisfaction with their lives today. She turned these responses into articles which were published in several magazines. After receiving overwhelming support from women who experienced the same dissatisfaction Friedan and other housewives had felt, she decided to publish a book of her writings on the subject, titled The Feminine Mystique. In the book, Friedan addresses the roles of women in suburban and industrial societies through college and beyond. "The shores are strewn with the casualties of the feminine mystique. They did give up their own education to put their husbands through college, and then, maybe against their own wishes, ten or fifteen years later, they were left in the lurch by divorce.” Women from all over the country who had never thought to question the ethics of their role in the house, began to think twice about how they were treated and how they were responding. The book spurred a social revolution, and not only changed perspectives on cultural differences in society, but gave women incentive to better their position.