A place where women could find purpose and heightened sexual satisfaction. She promoted intellectual stimulation to a state of nirvana. However, she does not address the practical issues of childcare and home management. She states that the answer is for all women to find satisfaction and fulfillment outside of the home. Some reviews of The Feminine Mystique state that Friedan’s oversimplification of the solution to the problem is frustrating. Reviews of Betty Friedan’s book indicate that she intended to create a mirror in which women could see that they were trying to fill the gap in their lives in the wrong way. They had to be successful breadwinners and perfect fathers when they came home at the end of the day. For example, she does not mention the pressure that was on men to provide that perfect lifestyle for women. Unfortunately, what Friedan failed to do was balance the women’s perspective with what was happening in the rest of society.
The Feminine Mystique was meant to be an honest observation of society at that time. This was not intended as a war cry against men, although many took it to be a militant feminist’s rant against the oppressors. They needed to take responsibility for developing their interests, careers, and above all, be true to themselves. The Feminine Myth book was intended to empower women to take back control of their lives after marriage. Young women had been sucked into the illusion that being a perfect wife and mother would satisfy every part of their psyche. Friedan wanted to empower women and remind them that they could make different choices for their lives. Once they realized that it was a collective feeling of emptiness, women could address the problem without use drugs and alcohol to try to fill the gaping hole in their lives. Many women could not identify why they were feeling this way, but as they began to share their problems, it became clear what the issue was. The Feminine Mystique was an attempt at getting to the heart of the problem. What she wanted to achieve was a linking of the stories that women were telling about dull and unfulfilled lives in a time of plenty in 1960s America. Some mistook the book for a military strategy in the fight for feminism and assumed that it encouraged hatred of all males.īook reviews of The Feminine Mystique make it clear that this was not the intention of Friedan at all.
The Feminine Mystique was the roadmap for women to regain control of their lives. Women had won the right to vote and enjoy education, only to have that freedom halted in its tracks by marriage.
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