361: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

The Feminine Mystique

The Feminine Mystique is often used as shorthand for the beginning of second-wave feminism.

First wave feminism is the 19th century movement that brought women the right to own property, the right to keep bank accounts in their name, the right to inherit property, and culminated (in the US) with the right to vote in 1920.

According to the typical narrative feminism took a nap during the next forty years, except for a short break to do all the men's jobs while the men-folk were off fighting WWII.

Second wave feminism took off with Friedan's critique about women's self-actualization since they achieved so-called equality. Friedan wasn't alone wondering if this was all there was. The demographic bulge of the baby-boom generation, combined with the most effective birth control for sexually active women in history, launched the second wave of feminism. Second-wave feminism brought the term Ms. into the mainstream, pointed out the glass ceiling for women, and clearly described the depths of male privilege.

Why this is progressive/liberal: There's more to citizenship than the right to vote. Friedan's work set the stage for the evolution in women's fight for equal rights. Many erroneous assumptions about female worth and ability are deeply embedded into our culture. Friedan blazed the trail that a generation of scholars and activists followed. These second wave feminists demonstrated that despite the victories of first wave feminism women were (and to some degree still are) considered second-class citizens.

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