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. ( )

This book is one of the most important feminist works of all time, if not THE most important feminist work. It took me awhile to get through, because Friedan researched the heck out of this thing. It’s full of statistics, citations from literary journals, interviews with real women, and quotes and stories from popular books and magazines. I’m so glad I finally got to this book, though, because it is so incredibly important. Reading Friedan’s book makes you wonder where in the world we’d be without it. She has made such an important contribution to women’s lives today that there simply aren’t enough words to effectively describe how crucial this book was/is.

Having said that, it’s remarkably sad to me that many of the issues she was sure would be solved by the 80’s are still serious issues today. She cites Roe v. Wadeas a monumental step for women’s rights, but that decision is now being questioned and attempts to revoke it have been made, and will continue to be made, by politicians and judges on both sides of the political spectrum. Friedan talks about how gaining access to child care and financial resources for women to further their educations and professional training is one of the first step to women’s freedom, yet today we still struggle with both these obstacles. Only the middle and upper classes can afford quality day care for their children, and most women cannot even dream of having the financial ability to go back to school after having children. Sexual harassment in the workplace, the glass ceiling, and the great pay divide still trap professional women to this day. Even worse, the word “feminism” now has such a negative connotation associated with it that most women, professional and otherwise, are completely turned off from using it to describe their personal beliefs. It’s hard that these are still such pressing problems, in 2008, but as long as there are still people working toward solving them, I have not given up hope. Millions are women do continue to be inspired by people such as Friedan, and the modern feminist movement reflects that.

My favorite part of The Feminine Mystique is the epilogue, when Friedan explains how she started NOW (the National Organization for Women) and made it such an unbelievably powerful and successful organization from nothing. This section is the most hopeful of the book, although one can see how many of the issues are still here today, it is also evident how much NOW has accomplished in its relatively short history, and what an amazing woman Friedan really is. ( )

Friedan’s main thesis of the book is that the life of a housewife does not entail the kind of sense of purpose and intellectual fulfillment that most women require in order to be happy. After the pioneering strides of the women’s movement in the 1920s, she saw a retreat of women back to the home and role of housewife after World War II. Many felt this was the natural place for a woman.

(Full review at my blog) ( )