Betty Friedan (born 4 February 1921)
In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, a book that is widely regarded as having ignited the second-wave feminist movement. She went on to help found the National Organization for Women.
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| Betty Friedan in 1995 |
In a perfect circle, Friedan was born on 4 February in 1921 and died on her eighty-fifth birthday, 4 February 2006.
There are biographies, of course, and endless histories, assessments, and analyses. (This New York Times obituary gives a good summary of her life and work.
But there's also the book itself--it's a breathtaking read, available in paper and hardback copies, new and used, fancy fiftieth-anniversary deluxe editions and Norton Critical texts prepared for classroom use, digital download and audiobook. Get one! Read it! Enjoy! And then get angry!
Update, 4 February 2021: Noting the one-hundredth anniversary of her birth, the New York Times has published "Why We Can't Stop Talking about Betty Friedan": "A 100th birthday celebration in honor of the feminist raises the question: What was Ms. Friedan’s legacy exactly? ‘As with everything Betty, it’s complicated.’"
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| Cover of the 1963 edition |
