Review: The Feminine Mystique

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Feminine Mystique is the classic book that sparked a national discussion on women's roles and "the problem that has no name" in the 1960s. It became the bible for the second-wave of feminism. It was written in a post-war era when women were sent back home from the factories to concentrate on family and home and to be the dutiful wife in a paternalistic society. Women were expected to go to college to find a husband, not an education. Women who wanted a career were considered to have emotional issues. Mainstream society thought they were broken and that a good husband and children would fix their problems. Friedan calls out this way of thinking and challenges readers to consider that women, like men, may need more than home life.

It is now over fifty years since this book has been written. Women now regularly manage homes and careers. The idea of a family unit of a mother, father, and children are less the norm as we see more single-parent and same-sex parent families. It does not mean they are less a family, it just shatters the traditional roles that were the norm in a post-war era. Although the text was written for an audience in a much different time, the themes are still important in today's society. Women still have not seen an Equal Rights Amendment. We have the vote, but we are far from equal in the eyes of the law. We are still fighting an uphill battle. We still have not seen a woman in the executive office of the nation but the time is coming and I hope it is coming soon. This book is still worth the read to hopefully continue the conversation of equality and to continue chipping away at the glass ceiling.

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