APUSH+Betty+Friedan

The Feminine Mystique 1963 In the "Feminine Mystique" Betty Friedan shows results of a study she conducted herself. After getting married she is found that she was not satisfied with the housewife way of life. After her high school reunion she surveyed a group of her friends and found that many, like her, suffered a sadness they didn't understand. She called this unexplained sadness the "feminine mystique", claiming that the semi-restrictive roles of housewife and mother is not enough for many women. In this she speaks of the history of women freedoms and how, recently women have been allowed to vote, making them official citizens, so they should be able to work and learn as they pleased. But much of the time they are funneled into the predetermined role as housekeeper. She explains how society pressures women into this role, and often times women drop out of school to manage a home because they feel pressured to get a husband and raise a family. The book is concluded with her encouraging women to be independent and search for their own happiness, not taking the modern status quot to heart.

This book was written to encourage women to stand up and become independent. When this book was published it sent a ripple through the female community. Life was no longer set, they could specialize, learn, and work in a field they liked, and not be predesignated to the work at home. This ripple was a push in the right direction that was already in place. Women's rights had been growing quickly and more and more rapidly they were gaining altitude on the scale of respect. Betty Friedan opened up a new life for women in her book, encompassing the past and future into her work of womans equality.