Betty Friedan, 1921-2006: A Leader in the Modern Women's Rights Movement
Betty Friedan is often called the mother of the modern women's
liberation movement. Her famous book, "The Feminine Mystique," changed
America. Some people say it changed the world. It has been called one
of the most influential nonfiction books of the twentieth century.
Friedan
re-awakened the feminist movement in the United States. That movement
had helped women gain the right to vote in the nineteen twenties.
Modern feminists disagree about how to describe themselves and their
movement. But activists say men and women should have equal chances for
economic, social and intellectual satisfaction in life.
Fifty
years ago, life for women in the United States was very different from
today. Very few parents urged their daughters to become lawyers or
doctors or professors. Female workers doing the same jobs as men earned
much less money. Women often lost their jobs when they had a baby.
There were few child care centers for working parents.
Betty Friedan once spoke to ABC television about her support for sharing responsibility for the care of children:
"If
child-rearing was considered the responsibility of women and men or
women and men and society, then we really could pull up our skirts and
declare victory and move on."
Betty Friedan was born Betty
Goldstein in nineteen twenty-one in Peoria, Illinois. Her immigrant
father worked as a jeweler. Her mother left her job with a local
newspaper to stay home with her family.
Betty attended Smith
College in Northhampton, Massachusetts. It was one of the country's best
colleges for women. She finished her studies in psychology in nineteen
forty-two.
After college she attended the University of California
at Berkeley to continue her studies. But her boyfriend at the time did
not want her to get an advanced degree in psychology. He apparently
felt threatened by her success. So Betty left California and her
boyfriend. She moved to New York City and worked as a reporter and
editor for labor union newspapers.
In nineteen forty-seven, Betty
Goldstein married Carl Friedan, a theater director who later became an
advertising executive. They had a child, the first of three. The
Friedans were to remain married until nineteen sixty-nine.
When
Betty Friedan became pregnant for the second time, she was dismissed
from her job at the newspaper. After that she worked as an independent
reporter for magazines. But her editors often rejected her attempts to
write about subjects outside the traditional interests of women.
In
nineteen fifty-seven, Friedan started research that was to have
far-reaching results. Her class at Smith College was to gather for the
fifteenth anniversary of their graduation. Friedan prepared an opinion
study for the women. She sent questions to the women about their lives.
Most who took part in the study did not work outside their homes.
Friedan
was not completely satisfied with her life. She thought that her former
college classmates might also be dissatisfied. She was right. Friedan
thought these intelligent women could give a lot to society if they had
another identity besides being homemakers.
Friedan completed more
studies. She talked to other women across the country. She met with
experts about the questions and answers. She combined this research
with observations and examples from her own life. The result was her
book, "The Feminine Mystique," published in nineteen sixty-three.
The
book attacked the popular idea of the time that women could only find
satisfaction through being married, having children and taking care of
their home. Friedan believed that women wanted more from life than just
to please their husbands and children.
The book said women
suffered from feelings of lack of worth. Friedan said this was because
the women depended on their husbands for economic, emotional and
intellectual support.
"The Feminine Mystique" was a huge success.
It has sold more than three million copies. It was reprinted in a
number of other languages. The book helped change the lives of women
in America. More women began working outside the home. More women also
began studying traditionally male subjects like law, medicine and
engineering.
Betty Friedan expressed the dissatisfaction of some
American women during the middle of the twentieth century. But she also
made many men feel threatened. Later, critics said her book only dealt
with the problems of white, educated, wealthy, married women. It did not
study the problems of poor white women, single women or minorities.
In
nineteen sixty-six, Betty Friedan helped establish NOW, the National
Organization for Women. She served as its first president. She led
campaigns to end unfair treatment of women seeking jobs.
Friedan
also worked on other issues. She wanted women to have the choice to end
their pregnancies. She wanted to create child-care centers for working
parents. She wanted women to take part in social and political change.
Betty Friedan once spoke about her great hopes for women in the
nineteen seventies:
"Liberating ourselves, we will then become a
major political force, perhaps the biggest political force for basic
social and political change in America in the seventies."
Betty
Friedan led a huge demonstration in New York City for women's rights.
Demonstrations were also held in other cities. A half-million women
took part in the Women's Strike for Equality on August twenty-sixth,
nineteen seventy. The day marked the fiftieth anniversary of American
women gaining the right to vote.
A year after the march, Friedan
helped establish the National Women's Political Caucus. She said the
group got started "to make policy, not coffee." She said America needed
more women in public office if women were to gain equal treatment.
Friedan
wanted a national guarantee of that equal treatment. She worked
tirelessly to get Congress and the states to approve an amendment to the
United States Constitution that would provide equal rights for women.
The
House of Representatives approved this Equal Rights Amendment in
nineteen seventy-one. The Senate approved it the following year.
Thirty-eight of the fifty state legislatures were required to approve
the amendment. Congress set a time limit of seven years for the states
to approve it. This was extended to June thirtieth, nineteen
eighty-two. However, only thirty-five states approved the amendment by
the deadline so it never went into effect.
The defeat of the E.R.A. was a sad event for Betty Friedan, NOW and other activists.
In
nineteen eighty-one, Betty Friedan wrote about the condition of the
women's movement. Her book was called "The Second Stage." Friedan
wrote that the time for huge demonstrations and other such events had
passed. She urged the movement to try to increase its influence on
American political life.
Some younger members of the movement denounced her as too conservative.
As
she grew older, Friedan studied conditions for older Americans. She
wrote a book called "The Fountain of Age" in nineteen ninety-three. She
wrote that society often dismisses old people as no longer important or
useful. Friedan's last book was published in two thousand. She was
almost eighty years old at the time. Its title was "Life So Far."
Betty
Friedan died on February fourth, two thousand six. It was her
eighty-fifth birthday. Betty Friedan once told a television reporter how
she wanted to be remembered:
"She helps make it better for women
to feel good about being women, and therefore she helped make it
possible for women to more freely love men."
Analysis
Simple Present Tense
1. Betty Friedan is often called the mother of the modern women's
liberation movement
Simple Past Tense
1. life for women in the United States was very different from
today.
2. If
child-rearing was considered the responsibility of women and men or
women and men.
3. Betty Friedan was born Betty
Goldstein.
4. It was one of the country's best
colleges for women.
5. She was dismissed
from her job.
6. Friedan started research that was to have
far-reaching results. Her class at Smith College was to gather for the
fifteenth anniversary of their graduation. Friedan prepared an opinion
study for the women. She sent questions to the women about their lives.
Most who took part in the study did not work outside their homes.
7. Friedan
was not completely satisfied with her life. She thought that her former
college classmates might also be dissatisfied. She was right. Friedan
thought these intelligent women could give a lot to society if they had
another identity besides being homemakers.
8. She talked to other women across the country. She met with
experts about the questions and answers. She combined this research
with observations and examples from her own life. The result was her
book, "The Feminine Mystique," published in nineteen sixty-three.
The
book attacked the popular idea of the time that women could only find
satisfaction through being married, having children and taking care of
their home. Friedan believed that women wanted more from life than just
to please their husbands and children.
9. And more.
Simple Future Tense
1. We will then become a
major political force.