Unit 2

            Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was written in 1963, and although it could be considered something of an anachronism here in the 21^st century, it is a vital text for those interested in analyzing the feminist movement of the Sixties. Friedan provides many insights into the dilemma that women faced in post-World War II America; stemming from a media-generated image of their function in society that was unrealistic and based on gender stereotypes, and coupled with a male-dominated political and economic system. Even from the book's oversights or faults, such as its limited scope that focused on white middle-class suburban housewives, we can gain a deeper understanding of the issues that American women faced during the time.

            Friedan was a magazine writer whose work often centered around womens' topics. She began noticing from her interviews with women that there was an underlying sense of dissatisfaction within many of her subjects; a phenomenon she labeled “the problem that has no name”. Although these women had been indoctrinated to believe that a life of bearing children, maintaining a household, and being a support to their husbands was the ideal American woman's goal, many of these females were silently feeling a vacuum of meaningful content to their daily routines. Or as Friedan puts it very succinctly, “Is this all?”

            It's important to realize the various agents from where this mythos, or the eponymous “feminine mystique” arose from. At the heart of it was a key trend: consumerism. With the post-war baby boom, and a new huge part of the American population enjoying prosperity and suburban sprawl, companies that catered to this demographic saw a ripe market. In collusion with their ad agencies, manufacturers began marketing their products as being essential for the “ideal housewives”; washers/dryers, stoves,furniture, beauty products, etc., all designed for this unrealistic vision of domestic bliss. Magazine articles also promoted this stereotype and perpetuated the facade, until many suburban housewive bought into it and based their entire existences around it.

            Friedan traces the roots of this growing ennui in American women, and finds several factors. Schools, and especially higher institutions, had begun practicing sex-directed education that helped steer women toward the home life, and not careers. By making a distinction between what was taught to males and females, this contributed to less women pursuing a professional life. It became typical for many female college students to only attend in hopes of finding a husband.

            There were some psychological viewpoints that had become trendy to the lay public in this era, particularly those of Sigmund Freud. His concept that most neurotic behavior had sexual origins, with such examples as “penis envy” being an early female impulse, further drove many women from the 50s and 60s into instrospection and blaming themselves for not feeling happiness in their home life.

            One major criticism that has been applied to The Feminine Mystique is that it did not fairly represent all American women, only those that were white and middle-class. But in fairness, never did Friedan state the mission of her book to be all-encompassing. She was writing about the women she knew and that, like her, were feeling more and more trapped in this false image created by a male-dominated society and promoted in the media.