Posted on 09/17/2008 10:08:29 AM PDT by nickcarraway
"Groundbreaking." "A landmark." "A classic." Those are the words now commonly used to describe Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique," first published in 1963. Friedan "pulled the trigger on history," wrote futurist Alvin Toffler; feminist admirers refer to it as "The Book." "The Feminine Mystique" sold more than 2 million copies when it came out, and remains a staple in women's studies classes today. But after nearly half a century, does it live up to its reputation? Rereading it, I find it to be both better and much worse than I remembered.
Striking, certainly, is the famed opening passage, where Friedan introduces the "problem that has no name":
The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night — she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question — Is this all?
For the next 450 pages, Friedan, who died in 2006, answered that question: No, it is not all. "What happened to [women's] dreams?" she asked. What happened to their "share in the whole of human destiny?" What happened, according to Friedan, is that women's magazines, advertisers, and an army of Freudian social scientists conspired to persuade American women that the fulfillment of their femininity was their truest and highest calling.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
While Friedan painted housewives as unfullfilled today we can see that many career women are the ones who feel that something is missing.
It is astounding how many Americans think that the worst of all possiblities for a 17 year old girl is to become pregnant. White America has gone a long way toward marginalizing itself through birth control, abortion, and a lack of interest in reproducing. We’re giving up on being the majority and America will not benefit as a whole when Whites are a minority.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Too late. Too many women see themselves as way too important. They are meant for loftier positions in the business world. Let some accent laden domestic do the “work”. Let them wipe away tears and kiss that boo-boo and find just the right band-aide. Mom is too good for that. That kind of “work” is beneath her. Money and selfish ambition is more important ... . I'm sure the kids understand ... when they get older all they'll see you as is a source for $$$$$ because they really don't know you. Hope it's worth it to you.
She was the problem, uglier than Helen Thomas, I saw her speak once.
A little old lady talked to her after the rant. Betty tried her best to convince the lady that her way was the right way, when she couldn’t, she screamed at her, “We will bury you.”
That quote is the only thing I remember from that college required propaganda. That was around 67-68, don’t recall exactly.
So single white motherhood without a high school education is a good thing?
If you are referring to Bristol, she will be okay whether the marriage lasts or not. Her parents are fairly affluent. For others not in those shoes, it is devastating. It is devastating financially and emotionally. It doesn't work out well with kids raising babies ... LOOK AT THE STATS ON IT! Geesh!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
>>It doesn’t work out well with kids raising babies ... LOOK AT THE STATS ON IT! Geesh!<<
So how about that “adoption” option?
The poster didn’t say “become a mother”, the poster said, “Become pregnant.”
As opposed to injecting with saline or sucking that baby out, I think this is a wonderful decision.
'Babies' do after all go to school full time starting at age 6 and continue on until at least 16 years old if not graduate. This is more than enough time for the mother to go to school or work or even both part time. In fact some of these young adults and older girls become much more responsible younger and some may pass the time as they are younger and thrive later in life when the children grow up when many other women are just beginning to have children.
I have met many of these women in my college days and was wowed at how responsible and organized many were compared to the other students and they also usually got great grades. They knew the value of what they were working for and being given and could use it directly to their benefit in the work world because they often had to. This was not true of many of the other young kids or young adults as they had no hardship often and took everything for granted. Plus there is something called a GED and often people take that and go on to be great college students and excellent workers and leaders. I have seen this over and over again. The women that aborted? Many have gone on to live empty worthless lives.
“...LOOK AT THE STATS ON IT! Geesh!”
Lots of the stats cover “teenage pregnancy” and do not break it down. There is a lot of difference between 13 and 19.
But aside from stats many working class 18 year old moms do just fine, thank you.
A local couple had just prayed that morning that had waited for a very long time to adopt and were about to give up. After my niece said she would like to do an adoption the two were hooked up and today the couple has a beautiful little boy and my niece has since gone on to become a registered nurse and has a good job with plenty of opportunity as a nurse anywhere she goes. She also has married and is raising a brand new child. She was from a low income family.
People forget adoption is a very viable option.
Feminism was never about empowering women - it was about about destroying women and reprogramming them to be men. Those who would not stop procreating were to be destroyed.
Feminism is the opposite of femininity.
Although Andelin's book never received much media attention, it became an underground bestseller. More than two million copies have been sold, and it is still in print, having become the book radical feminists love to hate.
Bravo! I was in 21, married, pregnant, and finishing my college degree - and even then, people considered my pregnancy to be undesirable. Out of those three things in my life, it is my DAUGHTER who has been the shining light in my life. College, marriage - they are all good. But my first marriage passed away, and the college degree - while giving me money - did not fulfill my soul. Out of those three things, it is my Daughter who has guided, supported and loved me all these years. She gave me motherhood, and that was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Just like faith, hope and love - the greatest of these is Love...
“We’re giving up on being the majority and America will not benefit as a whole when Whites are a minority.”
##############
How judgmental!
How bold!
How politically incorrect!
How fact and historically-based!
How utterly, utterly true.
How many of these childless women are “feminine” in any sense of the term?
Funny, I was on the committee at my school that brought speakers to campus when she spoke at our school. A few of us College Republicans joined the board with the aim of bringing in one conservative per semester. Proud to say we succeeded, bringing Star Parker and a few others. However, of course, we had to bring in the usual liberals as well, and we booked Ms. Friedan.
Anyway, I got to meet Ms. Friedan and to be honest, she came across as very kind and respectful. But when her speech started... ugh. Thank God I didn’t have to stay for the whole thing, because i walked out 15 minutes in. She’s still fighting a war she won in the 60s.
The rise of women in American life outside the home was a given. The rise of vicious, man-hating, Marxist, anti-American, abortion-is-a-sacrament, gender-feminist hags wasn’t. American women had been increasingly leaving the home and filling places in business and elsewhere for quite some time before the NOW gang came along. Remember Susan B. Anthony and the earlier equity feminists had previously cleared the path. Hopefully the likes of Steinem, Friedan, and the rest will be consigned to the ash-heap of history.
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