Lesley Rompalo
11/12/13
WGS 222
Biography: Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was born on February 4th, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois. He father was an
immigrant from Russia who ran a jewelry store and he mother was an editor of the local
newspaper. Friedan attended Smith College and majored in psychology. She was the
editor for the student newspaper. She used the newspaper to write pro-unionization
articles and anti-fascist commentaries. She graduated Smith summa cum laude.
After she graduated from Smith College, she moved to California to work at UC
Berkeley as a research fellow in the Psychology department. After a year, she moved to
New York to become a journalist. In 1947, Betty married Carl Friedan. She had 3
children. After she had her second child she lost her job as a journalist for requesting
maternity leave. Instead she freelance wrote for magazines, writing on woman’s issues.
Betty Friedan’s most popular work is The Feminine Mystique in 1963. She wrote
the Mystique as a wake-up call to women. It was to show that women were stuck in the
Cult of True Womanhood mindset of raising children and leaving work behind. She
argued that society dictated that a “woman's primary fulfillment must come from love,
marriage, and motherhood, and not from the satisfactions of a career in business or one of
the professions... Their only dream was to be perfect wives and mothers.” Friedan
believed that women were not allowed to be “just women,” they had to have an
attachment like “mother,” “daughter,” or “wife.” She believed the solution to this concept
was more education and opportunities for women.
In 1966 she founded the National Organization for Women (NOW). NOW
primarily targeted professional women and men for members. The purpose of NOW was
to break “the traditional assumption that a woman has to choose between marriage and
motherhood on the one hand and serious participation in industry or the professions on
the other.” Friedan wanted women to break out of the Cult of True Womanhood mindset
that kept many women away from careers. She believed that in order for women to be
equal to men, women must partake in careers. She used NOW to fight for legislation that
prohibited sex discrimination in the workplace and paid maternity leave. She was
president of NOW until 1970 when she stepped down from her role.
Betty Friedan was also very involved in other organizations and movements
besides NOW. She organized the Women’s Strike for Equality and marched in almost a
hundred cities across the United States. She also founded the first Nation Abortion Rights
Action League (NARAL). Friedan worked to pass legislation that gave women in the
state of New York rights to abortion.
Throughout her life, Betty Friedan continued to write. She published a number of
books such as It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women’s Movement, The Second
Stage, and the Fountain of Age. Most of her writings had to do with the women’s
movement and her own experiences as a leading woman in the movement. In The Second
Stage, she details the life of the modern “superwoman” who simultaneously has to take
care of her children, marriage, and career. The woman is expected to keep multiple roles
in society and the home, which is unsustainable to any person’s sanity. In Fountain of
Age, she argues that age does not deplete the worthiness of a person. This book was
extremely important because society places so much emphasis on youth in females that
an aging women is seen as unattractive and a loss to society.
Up until her death, she continued to speak at many universities across the United
States. She died on February 4th, 2006 in D.C. of heart failure.
Bibliography:
"Betty Friedan." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Detroit: Gale,
1998. Biography in Context. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
"Betty Friedan." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Biography in Context.
Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
"Betty Friedan." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 1994. Biography In Context. Web. 4 Nov.
2013.
Kaplan, Marion. "Betty Friedan." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical
Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on November 3, 2013)
Perry, Marilyn Elizabeth. "Betty Friedan: Overview." Feminist Writers. Ed. Pamela KesterShelton. Detroit: St. James Press, 1996. Biography In Context. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.