Everyone should read this book.

i recommend this for any woman out there, and men too. it is full of enlightening anecdotes, interesting information, innovative and bright ideas...



yes it is about feminism, but really, it's about equality. there is only one section that crosses the line, and there are a few brief ideas that tiptoe near it. but overall, the book covers and envelops a necessary subject for society, one that is basically as relevant today as it was when it was originally published-- sixty years ago... further proving the necessity of discussing this topic and the need for destroying "the obsolete feminine and masculine sex roles that dehumanized sex, making it almost impossible for women and men to make love, not war."

I picked this up because, when I admitted I'd never read it, my former French professor announced, "For shame! It's one of the books that changes your life!" And it really does--despite its very white feminist POV, it's put so much into perspective and made me grateful for the opportunities I have today.

"It took, and still takes, extraordinary strength of purpose for women to pursue their own life plans when society does not expect it of them" (pg. 454).

I'm shocked how much a Second Wave Feminist book from 1963 is still relevant today. I thought this book would feel more dated -- and trust me, her ignorant speculations about Autistic and LGBT individuals definitely feel abrasive -- but as far as Feminism goes, change is still slow and uneven.

Friedan can, at times, be a bit repetitive, especially near the end. But her prose is sharp and translucent. You can still feel the truth bombs detonating on the fortress of the American Feminine Mystique -- the fact that a woman is actually an autonomous person who can determine her life's purpose, that pursuing a passion / profession won't lead her children into psychoses, that having a world outside the home will actually help her be healthy and happy. It's still such an important and foundational idea that this book retains its value just on that argument alone.

I wish Friedan had used more on the empirical studies for making her conclusions, as she sometimes instead relies on anecdotal evidence, but it's possible that the studies simply didn't exist at the time. The stories certainly become strong examples, but studies would have helped make a stronger case for hard-nose doubters. Thankfully we now live in a world that has more evidence to help back her up.

I actually only made it halfway through. Interesting information, very dry read though.

I came to the startling realization recently that, despite it being a landmark work which I have been hearing about my whole life, I had never actually read this book. So I picked it up. It must be admitted that I fully expected to find it dated, cliche, and quaint at the most. I was quite surprised (and maybe a bit disturbed) to find how relevant it still is. It must, of course, be read with understanding of its historical context, Friedan's life, and understanding of how the book's age impacts the content. Basically the entirety of chapter 12, "Progressive Dehumanization", made me cringe and there are plenty of other things in the book that can be easily criticized with our half-century of hindsight.

However, the important thing is that this book still resonated with me in a big way. I was born into a world that had already accepted much of what Friedan presented; into a generation that had the privledge to take for granted what feminism had earned for us. Yet, within the pages I still found myself, my parents, my in-laws, my friends, even teenagers that I know. The relevance is eerie. The 1950's woman is so far removed from the 2017 woman. So why are her shadows still everywhere?

This book is a powerhouse. It is clear why it accomplished what it did. I found it, for the most part, very insightful. It is clear now, however, that there is more to the story that perhaps Friedan did not realize at the time. Nonetheless, this is an important work and one not to be dismissed.