Betty Friedan uses The Feminine Mystique to remind women that, for decades, the only way for a woman to be feminine was to get married, have kids and keep a house. Having multiple children was the norm, and running a household was considered a career. There is room for little else. Friedan analyzes why women, brought up with these socially accepted views, are suddenly finding themselves wanting more. In the early 1960s, (when The Feminine Mystique was written) therapy was becoming the rage. It was common for women to crowd clinics crying out for something better...although they didn't understand why. If they had a husband, a house and at least two children, society was telling them they had it all. Using the influences of the past like Freud and Margaret Mead, Friedan is able to paint a cultural picture of how the ideals and goals of women have been shaped over time. Friedan cites a multitude of magazines that have practically brainwashed women into believing a husband, house and kids were the best of all worlds combined. A great deal of the Feminine Mystique is quotations from other people. Interviews, magazines, lectures, books, and even a commencement address are used to support her commentary on a woman's position throughout history. Yet, her writing is angry and sharp. She is judge and jury for the problems women face, specifically in an American culture, especially if things do not change. ( )

i want to read this book... pls email me... gchen_26@yahoo.com

These book has launsched a major social movement, the second wave of the feminist movement, that has been awakening women and men.

This book changed my life when I was 18 and entering college in 1967. I found out I did not have to spend the rest of my life being married to a man and a house. A landmark book that changed the world as well! ( )

While I'm all about women's rights, this book just makes the same point over and over and over again. It is the definition of beating a dead horse. Additionally, while I'm sure it was relevant at its time, reading a bunch of statistics that simply aren't true anymore makes for a boring read. I love history, but really, Betty, just make your point and move on. ( )