Political Research Theory: The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is considered the commencement of major women’s liberation movements. The 1963’s publication is the most popular of Friedan’s works because it endeared the author to women during the 1960’s. Subsequently, the 1970s feminists noted that the views expressed in The Feminine Mystique established the cornerstone of their movement. In the work, Friedan examined the frequent unhappiness that women of the 1950s experienced on a daily basis. The author described such lack of happiness as “the problem that has no name” (Friedan 15). Typically, women experienced a constant feeling of depression due to their dependence on men for their intellectual, physical, mental, and financial well-being. Despite their unhappiness, women attempted to conform to a romanticized image described as the feminine ‘mystique.’ According to the writer, women in the post-World War II US were encouraged to only adopt the roles of housewives and mothers (Friedan 16). The author noted that such social views were a failed experiment, particularly because the relegation of a woman to the role of a happy homemaker or ‘perfect’ housewife actually prevented the woman and her entire family from experiencing happiness and success. Ultimately, The Feminine Mystique noted that housewives became disillusioned and began questioning themselves whether such an unhappy life was their destiny.
Background of Friedan and The Feminine Mystique
Friedan was born on 4th February 1921, in the city of Peoria, Illinois. From an early age, she showed a keen interest in writing and developed her talent throughout her high school, as well as university, education. After graduating with a psychology degree from Smith College, Friedan proceeded to Berkeley, where she successfully completed her master’s degree. Subsequently, she “moved to New York, where she married Carl Friedan in 1947” (“The Feminine”). Although she continued employing her writing skills in freelance works, she eventually bowed to social pressure and adopted a housewife’s role in 1949.
Friedan felt inspired to compose The Feminine Mystique after attending “a fifteen-year reunion at Smith College” in the 1950s (“The Feminine..”). While surveying her classmates, she realized that they were all unhappy with the role of the idealized homemaker (Jewish Women’s Archive). She studied the problem and resolved to write magazine articles about it. Nevertheless, women’s magazines thwarted her efforts to publish her findings of the unhappiness associated with the ‘perfect’ housewife model. Despite the magazines’ refusal to publish her study, Friedan continued to work on the issue until the outcome of her widespread investigation was brought out as The Feminine Mystique. Apart from case studies involving the women of the 1950s, Friedan’s book noted that women living in the mid-1930s had careers and education. Hence, women’s search for personal fulfillment had begun long before the 1950s. Nonetheless, the years spanning between 1949 and 1960 were marked by a period of regression with women’s mean age of marriage dropping and fewer women going to college (Friedan 16). Furthermore, the consumer cultures of the post-war US spread the misguided notion that a woman could only achieve fulfillment as a mother and wife. The Feminine Mystique, however, opposed the myth and argued that a woman should develop herself and her intellectual abilities, instead of choosing the exclusive role of a housewife. Hence, the book pointed out that women could only fulfill their potential by pursuing their dreams and ambitions.
Women’s Movements and Conditions before The Feminine Mystique
Psychologists like Abraham Maslow who were exceedingly popular in the period between the 1950s and 1960s influenced Friedan’s claims about the feminine mystique. Particularly, Friedan noted that women were experiencing persistent unhappiness and their kids were being raised by neurotic and unfulfilled mothers (Churchill). While basing her research on the era of post-World War II USA, Friedan claimed that women filled jobs that men had abandoned when they went to war. On their return, however, the men forced women into activities that were considered more feminine. Moreover, the men who returned from war expected their wives to provide nurturing; hence, they enforced the feminine mystique (Churchill). The Cold War’s escalation in the 1950s also promoted the concept of domestic space and nuclear family as part of a philosophical battle against the Soviets. Principally, middle-class Caucasian women were significant contributors to the ideological battle because their representation of an idealized femininity demonstrated “the superiority of the American capitalist consumer society” (Churchill). Using interviews and statistics, Friedan illustrated the desire of women to attain the feminine mystique. In the mid-fifties, for example, sixty percent of college women dropped out in an effort to terminate their education before becoming “undesirable on the marriage market” (Churchill). From touting the natural role of women as caregivers and mothers to teaching women how to care for men, the education system and the media perpetuated every aspect of the feminine mystique. American media also deemed the image of an American housewife performing domestic duties properly as “the envy of women” globally (Churchill).
While interviewing different housewives, nevertheless, Friedan discovered that behaviors suggested in home economics books and magazines, such as taking off the shoes of her husband, often failed to ameliorate a woman’s life condition (Churchill). Furthermore, most American women failed to attain such idealized feminine behaviors. Consequently, they spent a significant part of their lives with psychologists in an attempt to adjust to the social expectation of a woman. Other women drank alcohol or took tranquilizers to lessen their feeling of emptiness (Churchill). Soon, the media began recognizing that most suburban women felt unhappy with the ‘feminine role.’ Some publications attributed the unhappiness to higher education and maintained that highly educated women were relatively more likely to become unfulfilled as housewives. Friedan, however, offered a different view of the disillusionment experienced by most American housewives (Churchill). She opposed the feminine mystique by pointing out that women could have successful careers and fulfilling family lives.
Factors within The Feminine Mystique
Friedan mentioned several elements that helped in enforcing the feminine mystique. One of the major factors expressed in her book involved the issue of widespread unhappiness. In chapter one, Friedan introduced a phenomenon that seemed to lack a name. In particular, it involved an absence of lasting happiness among women living in the 1950s (17). The author presented the results of studies that had been carried out throughout the US and wondered whether such rampant unhappiness was linked to the housewife role of women. This led her to present her second major factor- the homemaker ideal. In chapter 2, Friedan analyzed women’s magazines published before and after the Second World War (“The Feminine”). In the magazines of the 1930s, for example, the author noted that the featured stories presented independent and confident heroines, who were mostly involved in different careers. In the magazines of the 1940s to the 1960s, however, the so-called “Happy Housewife,” who only aspired to become a wife and mother replaced “the career-oriented New Woman” (“The Feminine”). As a result, Friedan described the new homemaker ideal as the feminine mystique. The third factor explored in The Feminine Mystique was the crisis associated with a woman’s identity. In chapter three, Friedan recalled her personal choice of conforming to social expectations by abandoning a promising career in order to raise kids (“The Feminine”). The author noted that many other women were also struggling with the same decision. She observed that by mid-1950s, sixty percent of young women “dropped out of college to marry, or because they were afraid too much education would be a marriage bar” (Friedan 16). Unfortunately, most of the women failed to lead fulfilling lives in their narrow roles as wives and mothers. As a result, they began losing self-esteem and fearing that something was wrong with their lives. The fourth factor in The Feminine Mystique is sex-directed instructors. Friedan observed that a profound change in the education of women occurred between the 1940s and 1960s. Typically, sex-directed teachers accused colleges of snatching women’s feminine character, as well as potential for experiencing sexual fulfillment (“The Feminine”). Subsequently, women’s schools began focusing on sex-directed courses and non-challenging school programs that emphasized family and marriage. According to Friedan, nonetheless, sex-directed curriculum arrests a girl’s emotional development by preventing her from facing “the painful identity crisis and subsequent maturation that comes from dealing with many adult challenges” (“The Feminine”). Lastly, The Feminine Mystique explores the factor of ‘the sexual sell.’ In chapter nine, the author examined the irresistible commercial motivating factor that enforced the feminine mystique. According to Friedan, a woman meets a male figure hired by manufacturers to investigate and exploit her unfulfilled desires (“The Feminine”). Consequently, companies employ manipulative advertising to promote an unrealistic image of a sorrow-free housewife. Furthermore, they urge housewives to perceive themselves as independent, intelligent, and worthy professionals requiring numerous specialized products. Nevertheless, Friedan noted that the tantalizing effect of such advertising only helped to confine women to a highly unfulfilling life. She explained that the manufacturers did not wish to unknowingly “encourage housewives to be independent enough to become career women—who do not buy as many household products” (“The Feminine”).
Women’s Accomplishments and Continuing Problems
The Feminine Mystique achieved the status of an international bestseller after launching feminists’ second-wave movement. Since its publication in 1963, the work has sold over a million copies with its translation occurring in multiple languages. In addition, the book is regarded as a major text in US History and Women’s Studies classes. Following the publication, Friedan toured different centers in the US where she spoke about the book and introduced audiences to its groundbreaking feminist concepts. Women that have read The Feminine Mystique often describe feeling encouraged to seek happiness in their lives (Jewish Women’s Archive). Accordingly, The Feminine Mystique develops the view that women can escape the confines associated with the conventional notions of femininity and, hence, enjoy their lives fully.
Although The Feminine Mystique catalyzed the feminist movement of the 1960s to 1980s, researchers soon began identifying significant flaws in the work. For instance, the book’s arguments were considered “less relevant, because twice as many women were in the workforce as had been during the 1950s” (Churchill). Additionally, feminists of color, such as bell hooks, pointed out that Friedan’s manifesto was classist and racist. Hence, the book’s ideas were not applicable to the proletariat, particularly African Americans, who enrolled in the labor force due to necessity. According to social historians such as Daniel Horowitz, The Feminine Mystique revealed an absence of honesty regarding Friedan’s vantage point that she was merely a housewife and suburban mother (Churchill). The historian insisted that Friedan had engaged in leftist radical activism since college. Thus, Horowitz concluded that The Feminine Mystique was to be viewed as “a necessary fiction if both she and her feminist ideas were to be given a chance to take root” (Churchill). Other critics asserted that Friedan had centered her hypotheses on investigations that had been proven inaccurate. In spite of such criticism, nonetheless, The Feminine Mystique undeniably galvanized women to reassess their identities and roles in society.
Conclusion
Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique marked the start of major women’s liberation movements. From an early age, the author was enthusiastic about writing and enhanced her talent throughout her education. Friedan felt inspired to compose her famous work The Feminine Mystique after realizing that her married former classmates were unhappy with their roles as housewives. Subsequently, the writer conducted extensive research on the issue and found that the era of post-World War II and the escalation of the Cold War contributed to the promotion of the ‘feminine role.’ In addition, she used interviews and statistics to illustrate the desire of American women to attain the feminine mystique. Factors such as widespread unhappiness among women and ‘the sexual sell’ were some of the primary elements highlighted in The Feminine Mystique. Nevertheless, Friedan opposed the feminine mystique arguing that women could have both successful careers and fulfilling family lives. Although her work has received considerable criticism since its publication, The Feminine Mystique has undeniably galvanized women to reexamine their identities and roles in society.
Works Cited
“The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan 1963.” Encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia, n. d. Web. 21 July 2016.
Churchill, Lindsey Blake. “The Feminine Mystique, Work by Friedan.” Britannica.com. Britannica, 6 Nov. 2015. Web. 21 July 2016.
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton, 1963. Print.
Jewish Women’s Archive. “Publication of ‘The Feminine Mystique’ by Betty Friedan.” Jwa.org. Jewish Women’s Archive, n. d. Web. 21 July 2016.
