...BETTY FRIEDAN, 1921-2006: A LEADER IN THE MODERN WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT I'm Faith Lapidus. And I'm Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Betty Friedan. She was a powerful activist for the rights of women. Betty Friedan is often called the mother of the modern women's liberation movement. Her famous book, "The Feminine Mystique," changed America. Some people say it changed the world. It has been called one of the most influential nonfiction books of the twentieth century. Friedan re-awakened the feminist movement in the United States. That movement had helped women gain the right to vote in the nineteen twenties. Modern feminists disagree about how to describe themselves and their movement. But activists say men and women should have equal chances for economic, social and intellectual satisfaction in life. Fifty years ago, life for women in the United States was very different from today. Very few parents urged their daughters to become lawyers or doctors or professors. Female workers doing the same jobs as men earned much less money. Women often lost their jobs when they had a baby. There were few child care centers for working parents. Betty Friedan once spoke to ABC television about her support for sharing responsibility for the care of children: "If child-rearing was considered the responsibility of women and men or women and men and society, then we really could pull up our skirts and declare victory and move on." ...
Words: 1278 - Pages: 6
...Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique Angelina C. Cosentino JRNL B1 Media and Society – Professor Garcia April 9th 2014 In 1957, Friedan was asked to conduct a survey of her former Smith College classmates for their 15th anniversary reunion; the results, in which she found that many of them were unhappy with their lives as housewives, prompted her to begin research for The Feminine Mystique, conducting interviews with other suburban housewives, as well as researching psychology, media, and advertising. She originally intended to publish an article on the topic, not a book, but no magazine would publish her article. In Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan wrote about women's inequality from men to women's equality to men. She also wrote about women accepting the inequality to women fighting for equality. Friedan comes across as a woman with strong beliefs that filled her book with a lot of effort and information. Her writing style proves that she has been in a feminist movement and that she has a passion for every word she put into this book. She also writes in a way that makes a person interested in what her beliefs are. Friedan has a mass amount of information to prove every point she has. She once stated that “Feminine Mystique” was her favorite work to write about. Her writing style proves each point she responds to. In Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan is attempting to persuade the reader to understand what she is trying to say. She wants people to know exactly what occurred...
Words: 2710 - Pages: 11
...The 1960s was a pivotal time for women. Women were fighting for their independence and their equal rights. Despite the ratification of the 19th Amendment, it did not seem to affect women's lack of power and opportunity: “Deep cultural changes were altering the role of women in American society. More females than ever were entering the paid workforce, and this increased the dissatisfaction among women regarding huge gender disparities in pay…” (Walsh). Betty Friedan a female author and activist published her most notable book in 1963 The Feminine Mystique that caused a widespread for women to fight for their own independent lives, which was known as second- wave feminism that sparked the Women's Liberation Movement. In her last book Life So...
Words: 1532 - Pages: 7
...Betty Friedan – The Mother of Feminism Betty Friedan was born as Bettye Goldstein. She was born in Peoria, Illinois on February 4, 1921. Harry Goldstein, her father, emigrated from Russia in the 1880s in which he built himself a successful jewelry business in the United States (Parry, 2010). Miriam Horwitz, his wife and her mother, was the daughter of Hungarian Jewish immigrants, who actually was unable to attend Smith College due to her parents’ refusal (Parry, 2010). At the fact that her mother was not able to complete her dream of school and education, her mother would continually push for her to do well in her academics because she knew the potential her daughter had. However, even though she saw her potential, she knew that her daughter’s Jewish upbringing would be her hindrance, but she continued for her to strive on and was not ready to give up and surrender to how things were. Therefore, Betty’s rebuttal was always there from the beginning. Her Jewish upbringing caused Betty to experience many blunders along her way. In her high school located in Peoria, Illinois, Jews were not welcome in sororities or fraternities, which had truly played a detrimental effect on her because they played a big role at her school (Selle, 1998). Even though her academic successes were stellar, she was continually shunned upon due to her ethnicity and background. Not only was Betty a spectacular student, but also she was also a writer, poet, and the founder of a literary (Selle, 1998). But...
Words: 5554 - Pages: 23
...A Women’s Civil Right The speech ”A Women’s Civil Right” was written in 1969 and the feminist author Betty Friedan delivered it. Betty Friedan was a proponent of the modern women’s movement and claimed that women in 1969 and onwards should not be trapped in the stereotypical housewife role. Friedan was convinces that social barriers in the society kept women imprisoned in “the housewife trap”. She wanted women to have better career opportunities, introduce equality with men and to eliminate the illusion of “the happy housewife”. This specific speech announces that abortion should be a part of a women’s civil right. Betty Friedan singles out women to be the invisible minority in America. The invisible women in the American society are the ones who take an active share in the important resolution of the government and not the women who take care of the domestic duties. Friedan compares the invisibility of forward-looking women to the Afro-American permanent residents in America. For many years, the Afro-American people in the U.S. have been the invisible section of the population in the Southern states. Racial segregation in America became a crucial part of life until the segregation legally ended in 1964 because of the Civil Rights Act. The blacks were in those days invisible according to their voting rights. The voting rights of blacks were systematically restricted because the black’s voting papers did not manage to be registered. Many Afro-American were killed because...
Words: 1315 - Pages: 6
...More females entered the workplace, women looked up to their greatest idol, Betty Friedan, and there were profound changes happening in the bedroom (birth control). Women were starting to gain respect, value their place in society and stand up for their civil rights. Before the 1960s, women were limited to jobs as teachers, nurses, or secretaries, generally unwelcomed into professional programs. According to tavaana.org, one medical school dean declared, “Hell yes we have a quota, we do keep women out as much as possible. We don’t want them here.” As a result, women accounted for only six percent of the doctors, 3 percent of lawyers, and less than one percent engineers. The conditions of their employment were unequitable because they were paid much less, were denied opportunities, and many employers assumed women would quit once they were pregnant so they were often not even hired (Walsh). The feminist movement in the 60’s originally focused on these issues. In 1964, Representative Howard Smith of Virginia wanted to help women and proposed to add a prohibition on gender discrimination in the civil rights laws. He was greeted by laughter from other congressman, but with the leadership from Representative Martha Griffiths of Michigan, the law was passed. However, most women knew this would not enforce the protection of women workers. Therefore, a group of feminists, including the great Betty Friedan, founded NOW (National Organization for Women), an organization to fight...
Words: 1321 - Pages: 6
...what extent was the Second Wave Feminism Movement inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and serve as a continuation of its ideals? The Civil Rights of the 1950s and the feminism of the 1960s will be explored to show how the two bled together and were not entirely separate. The first source to be evaluated is The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. There is value in this source because it provides a comparison point for the rest of the investigation. Since many historians look to Friedan’s book as the beginning of the feminist movement in the 1960s, it provides helpful insight into the initial goals for the movement. As a journalist, she was...
Words: 2124 - Pages: 9
...Modern America 2 In America Feminism, the quest for women’s Equality is part of women’s collective desire to be recognized as participating members of our society. The equality movement was rife with ongoing struggles women faced to find equality in the public’s eye. After the Great Depression and 2 world wars, people looked for fulfillment in their private lives; an expression of their commitment to both home and family with distinctive roles divided between men and women. Career choices for women were limited leaving many women with the feeling of dissatisfaction outside social defined gender roles, a feeling of Isolation; a wanting for more. (Mary B. Norton, Jane Kamensky, Carol Sheriff, David W. Blight, Howard F. Chudacoff, Fredrick Logevall, Beth Bailey, and Debra Michales, 2015). In both “The Problem has no name” and “Giving Women the Business” women of late twentieth century (60’s, 70’s, and 80’s) had to deal with trying to balance the choices between being Independent , achieving self-satisfaction, and the reality of the two. Betty Friedan was an inspiring writer, known for her role as one of the founders of the National Organization for Women (NOW), a social activist, housewife, and freelance writer who launched the second wave of the feminist movement with the publication of her book “The Feminine Mystique” (Parry Manon, 2010). With the writing of “The Problem that has no name”, Betty Friedan became the voice of millions of women across America with the...
Words: 1192 - Pages: 5
...future, she is able to conceptualize a society of: equal inequalities, elimination of corruption within a societal state and the fear of homophobia of the time that existed in the United States. As a feminist activist during the 70s, Betty Friedan served as a strong leading figure for the women’s movement in the United States and is recognition for sparking the second wave of American feminism during the 20th century. Friedan would be content of what Piercy conveys in the novel about the equal inequalities that exist within the utopia society. Because of this she is able to explore the ideas of a women in finding a realization beyond the traditional role. As a writer for the feminist and women’s rights, Friedan took part in advancing women’s rights that recognized the women’s inequality as being a typical housewife that has a husband. This led her to the develop the National Organization for Women that aspired to bring the women into a conventional American society that offered equal partnership with men. This is most seen in Piercy’s novel in which the utopian society does not discriminate against any female role and exercises the practice of delegating responsibilities. As a strong supporter of equal rights, it is seen that Betty Friedan and Marge Piercy both believed in having equal equality to exist in a...
Words: 899 - Pages: 4
...The earlier feminist movements started in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention and ended in 1920 with the right to vote. Women considered their gain of suffrage as a huge victory; however, many others still viewed this as a scrap of bread that they were getting. Although women had the right to vote now, they were still far from equality, that is, with men. With their strong belief that freedom will arise with the achievement of gender equality, feminists eagerly fought in the second wave feminism movements that emerged around the 1960s. Alice Paul was a diligent, courageous young woman wanting to make a difference in the lives of women. Her dedication sometimes took her too far; she was arrested three times in the course of her life. She respected rights so much that she made an amendment to make sure women were getting the rights they deserved. Many people thought the Roaring Twenties as a time of change in this country, although Paul had a different perspective. The nation thought of the 1920s as a time to get drunk and have parties, while Paul thought of this movement as a time for women to have rights just like men. Alice Paul, being...
Words: 532 - Pages: 3
...God Created Men AND WOMEN! Erica McNamara HIS 204 Lilia Anand September 16, 2013 What would the world be if not for the powerful women who have helped to guide the path of women’s rights in the nation? Would women enjoy the same freedoms or would women still be prisoners to the home? Thankfully women don’t need to spend much time contemplating this as we did have strong, powerful women that fought for women’s rights for centuries. Women encouraged other women to fight for equality, fight for freedom, fight for the opportunity to be a strong independent woman in a nation of strong independent men. This paper will discuss several significant events that shaped the future for women in America. Events driven by women that wanted their voices to be heard through a sea of men, women that wanted men to realize that women had a lot to offer this world we live in. The first event this paper will discuss is the American Equal Rights Association started in 1866 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This association would shine a light on women’s suffrage in the nation and later inspire a more radical group called The National Woman Suffrage Association. World War I was another event that that the shaped the future for women in America and around the world. Women left their homes to become nurses that would care for wounded soldiers around the world. Another event is the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920. The 19th amendment gave women a voice in elections...
Words: 3277 - Pages: 14
...Women in the 1960s Regina Wilson HIS/145 07/29/2015 Women's liberation movement became prominent in the 1960s. Women's liberation was the fight for the equality of women and men. In the previous years, men were always dominant over women in every sense of the word. They held the jobs; they made all of the financial decisions, as well any other decisions about the household, as far as sexual relationships, men decided when, where and how. When courageous women were bold enough to speak out about being the inferior gender, and developing organizations that addressed the issue, as well as writing books about it, the idea of women finally having more freedom was appealing and became popular very quick. Organizations were formed promoting Women's liberation, and some are still in existence today. National Organization for Women, commonly known as NOW, was founded in 1966 and is still in existence today. This organization's motto was "to take action, to achieve equality of women." One of the co-founders of the organization was a lady named Betty Friedan. Ms. Friedan was the author of a book called The Feminine Mystique (A.W. 1976). Ms. Friedan was a woman that was not afraid to voice her opinion on anything for jobs to sex, and these are things that women had wanted to do for years, but just did not know how. Because of her brazen and bold conversations, she instantly became famous, and when interviewed...
Words: 818 - Pages: 4
...A COMPARISON OF: - It was like All of Us had been raped: Betty Jean Owens - My Story/ We Fight For the Right to Vote: Rosa Parks - Give Light and the People Will Find Away: Ella Baker - The Problem that had no name: Betty Friedan (For Prof. Jeanne Theoharis –History 43.14) “It was like All of Us had been raped- Betty Jean Owens a catalyst against sexual violence in America A thorough knowledge of American history brings enlightenment to the struggle of African American women to have their bodies, be termed as their own and not for these women to be characterized as beasts for the sexual gratification of white males or any males. Betty Jean Owens (1959) was a young black college woman who was viciously raped repeatedly by four white males at gun point whilst her female friend had escaped and her male friends were allowed to leave. The men that were allowed to leave reported the incident to the local authorities and were involved in a chase to apprehend Owens’s rapist. After the apprehension of the four white males, they gleefully admitted to the crime. Ms. Owens pressed charges, and the men were trialed and found guilty but were saved from the death sentence. The Owens case is not an isolated incident for prior to her case they were hundreds of black women that were brutally raped and beaten but the culprits were never charged, in fact Lisa Bramlet’s is said to have borne twenty three children, twenty of which were...
Words: 2197 - Pages: 9
...The women’s rights movement was a huge turning point for women because they had succeeded in the altering of their status as a group and changing their lives of countless men and women. Gender, Ideology, and Historical Change: Explaining the Women’s Movement was a great chapter because it explained and analyzed the change and causes of the women’s movement. Elaine Tyler May’s essay, Cold War Ideology and the Rise of Feminism and Women’s Liberation and Sixties Radicalism by Alice Echols both gave important but different opinions and ideas about the women’s movement. Also, the primary sources reflect a number of economic, cultural, political, and demographic influences on the women’s movement. This chapter really explains how the Cold War ideologies, other protests and the free speech movements occurring during this time helped spark the rise or the women’s right’s movements. In Cold War Ideology and the Rise of Feminism by Elaine Tyler May, May examines the impact of political changes on American families, specifically the relationship of a Cold War ideology and the ideal of domesticity in the 1960s. May believed that with security as the common thread, the Cold War ideology and the domestic revival reinforced each other. Personal adaption, rather than political resistance, characterized the era. However, postwar domesticity never fully delivered on its promises because the baby-boom children who grew up in suburban homes abandoned the containment ethos when...
Words: 2090 - Pages: 9
...Throughout the semester, the theme that has intrigued me the most is that of women’s identity, now and historically. Throughout history, women were outcasts to the formal configurations of political life. Over the course of the century, however, women in America progressed considerably into all facets of public life, the political realm, the labor force, memberships, careers, mass media, and trendy culture. I believe that women’s identity now and historically has progressively been revamped through the use of proper integration and successful women’s movements. Since the beginning of time, women have been fighting for their rights and fighting to be equal with men on every level. Both individuals and organized groups felt that women were treated unjustly, and they vowed to fix these problems. The peak of this movement transpired in the 1960s and 1970s, when the Women's Liberation Movement was recognized as an organized power to gain equality of women. Starting in primitive eras, women of the Prehistoric Age were first reflected as inferior through division of labor. The men were sent to hunt for food, and the women were caretakers watching over the family. This conception of sexually depicted roles implied that women were too delicate and frail to go out hunting with the men (Sinclair 184). The New Stone Age kept women's status inferior to that of men. They were still in charge of rally and farming, which led them to many technological advances in the fields of plowing and...
Words: 2441 - Pages: 10
