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The Feminist Questioning and Envisioning Process

created by:

Aliya Khalidi & Seema Gokhale

Betty Friedan: Pioneer, Visionary, Activist

Betty Friedan was among the pioneering women in the second wave of feminism in the United States. Her famous work, The Feminine Mystique helped to spark a discussion across the United States about the "Problem that has no name." This problem can be seen in Friedan's analysis of the frustrations and lack of fulfillment that white, upper middle class housewives across the country felt. Friedan is often credited with allowing women to recognize that the dissatisfaction they felt with their lives is not unique to their own household, and by extension inspiring them to action in what became known as the second wave of feminism.

The Feminist Mystique, (Chapter 1 is here) expresses a common concern among educated women who were housewives: Is this all? Women who were making beds, having children, cooking dinner, and cleaning the home were taught that it was their duty to stay within the home and care for their children and husbands. Some of these women had even gone to college, yet after marrying, and having children they began to question whether they had personalities. Friedan recognized that if women realized that they were not alone in their struggles then they could envision a greater future together.

The women in The Feminist Mystique are women questioning where their lives went wrong, and why they do not have as much fulfillment from family life as they were expected to. Though many of them raised children and tried to attain personal fulfillment through housekeeping duties, they were utimately unsuccessful.

They envisioned a better life that would allow them to develop a life that would be independent of their work caring for their families. In other words, they saw that their lives were not just spent serving others, but existed for some personal fulfillment as well.

"The problem that has no name — which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities — is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease."[1]