The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan's 1963 book on the unhappiness of American housewives.
At a glance
Key ideas
Magazines made the mystique, Against Freud, Education for marriage …
See all 6Criticism
Who was left out, The magazines did not say that, Not a typical housewife …
See all 4Connections
Betty Friedan and The Second Sex
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Friedan challenged the belief that the only fulfilment for American women was as housewives and mothers.
- She called this belief the feminine mystique, and traced it through women's magazines, education, Freudian psychology, functionalism and advertising.
- She described "the problem that has no name", a widespread unhappiness among comfortable suburban wives.
- She urged women to find meaningful work that uses their full abilities.
Why it matters
- It is widely credited with sparking second-wave feminism in the United States and is regarded as one of the most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.
Key facts
- Author
- Betty Friedan1
- Published
- 19 Feb 1963, W. W. Norton1
- Origin
- A 1957 survey of her Smith College classmates for their 15th reunion; no magazine would publish the article she first wrote1
- Sales
- Over a million copies at first; over 3 million by 20001
- 50th-anniversary edition
- February 2013, with a new introduction by Gail Collins1
- Recognition
- Among the US Department of Labor's top ten Books that Shaped Work in America (2013)1
Key ideas
-
Magazines made the mystique1
Men editing women's magazines ran stories of happy housewives or unhappy careerists, unlike the independent heroines of the 1930s.
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Against Freud1
She criticised Freud for seeing women as childlike and destined to be housewives; the chapter drew on Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex.
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Education for marriage1
Women's colleges had shifted to unchallenging courses on marriage and family.
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Advertisers' interest1
Advertisers sold housewives the idea of homemaking as a profession needing many products, and discouraged real careers.
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Housework expands1
Full-time housewives stretched their duties to fill the time available.
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Self-actualisation1
Using Maslow, she argued women need meaningful work as men do.
Criticism
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Who was left out1
Women of colour and white working-class and poor women were absent from its vision.
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The magazines did not say that1
Historian Joanne Meyerowitz argued that period magazines did support jobs for women.
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Not a typical housewife1
Daniel Horowitz pointed out her background in radical politics and labour journalism.
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Backlash1
Many women who valued their roles as mothers and housewives responded angrily.
Connections
Links
Sources
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