Preview

Betty Friedan Hero

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
597 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Betty Friedan Hero
Imagine a world where women have a very little amount of rights, where women being hired was rare, and where only women cleaned. The only reason our world isn’t like that anymore is because of Betty Friedan, and others like her. Betty Friedan experienced having little rights her whole life, and one day wondered if other women felt the same way she did.

Betty Friedan Stands as a hero, because she became a force for change, had integrity, and was a good strong leader. The text states “She directed campaigns to end sex-classified employment notices, for greater representations of women in government” (www.britannica.com). This shows one way that Betty Friedan’s force for change helped make her stand as a hero. Later on the text states “She also fought for abortion rights by establishing the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion” (www.biography.com). This shows another way that Betty Friedan’s force for change
…show more content…
This shows one way that Betty Friedan’s integrity helped make her stand as a hero. Later on the text states “Friedan stepped down from the presidency in March 1970 but continued to be active in the work that had sprung largely from her pioneering efforts, helping to organize the Women’s Strike for Equality” (www.britannica.com). This shows another way Betty Friedan's integrity helped make her stand as a hero. Near the end the text states “Friedan received criticism for focusing too much on issues facing primarily white, middle-class, educated, heterosexual women… In the end, Friedan's attitude proved a balance to other women’s rights leader’s more radical attitude” (www.nwmh.org). This shows a final way that Betty Friedan's integrity helped make her stand as a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Thus, in an attempt to further promote equal opportunity between men and women, a second wave of feminism emerged between 1968 and the 1980’s, which can be best characterized by women’s refusal to acclimate to society’s rigid belief of what an ideal woman should be or act like (Mancia, Class, 12/2). This problem is perfectly illustrated in the Feminine Mystique, written by Betty Friedan, in which Friedan discussed the unhappiness of many young women in the 1950’s and early 1960’s despite many of them being married and having children, living the life a woman is “supposed” to have. Furthermore, Friedan complained of young women who were being taught that “truly feminine women do not want careers, higher education, political rights” (Friedan, p. 271). Instead, they were being taught that it was a woman’s “job” to essentially be a housewife (i.e. stay home, clean the house, make food for her family, take care of the kids, etc...) (Friedan, p. 273). However, Friedan largely opposed this view and believed that it embodied the false prototypical stereotype about women. Rather, Friedan believed that a truly feminine woman would do just the exact opposite and does aim for a career, higher education, and political rights in the same way that a man would (Mancia, Class,…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Joseph Campbell’s criteria for a hero can be a useful way to understand what the idealization of one is. Mother Teresa possesses many of these characteristics. She underwent an epiphany and gave her life to “something bigger.” In addition, she had a moral objective and a capacity to serve, achieved monumental goals, and brought “solar light” into the world. In these aspects, Mother Teresa is a heroine. But in the eyes of the poor, she was a beacon of hope and a helping…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The women’s movement has been a long fought battle this assignment helps bring just how long it has been. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony wrote “The Seneca Falls Declaration”. This document was much like the “Declaration of Independence” in which it listed multiple grievances against the government. This was the beginning of the movement and was slow going until 1966. In 1966 Betty Friedan wrote “The National Organization for Women’s Statement of Purpose”. These two documents hold a lot in common but when comparing the two you can see that in the years between them things have changed. This change may be small but is evident when compared. Some examples are in “The Seneca Falls Declaration” women in that time frame could not attend…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Betty Friedan’s initial intent of inspiring women to step out of their traditional roles, although effectively bringing forth the women’s movement, unintentionally changed the dynamics of family life in society.…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Niebuhr sees it as an obstacle while Friedan sees it as the only way to truly gain freedom. Friedan says “She [women] must learn to compete then, not as a woman, but as a human being. Not until a great many women move out of the fringes into the mainstream will society itself provide the arrangement for their new life plan.” (297) This rejection of tradition, upholding of individualism, and rejection of an idealistic “mystique” perfectly encapsulates many of the values of the enlightenment and is what Friedan upholds as the only way for women to be free.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Clara Barton didn’t just lean toward her beliefs in rights for everyone, she maintained interests in education, prison reform, women’s suffrage and civil rights. But some of her most notable achievements were her actions in the Franco-Prussian war, her single-mindedness to start the American Red Cross, and her lack of segregation when working with…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As she worked to keep this persona everywhere she traveled, she gave the notion of feminism. As women were rising for their rights, such as the right to vote during Oakley’s era, people believed Oakley was a feminist standing for independence and strength for women. It is reasonable to deem such beliefs, but Oakley was only living the life she wanted by following her passions; she did this for herself, not for feminism. Oakley did not even believe women should vote or become involved in any politics; she believed men reserved those…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most men didn’t want women to be anything more than housewives, as they had been for years.While most women wanted the freedom to control their careers, bodies, and families.A majority of women felt that the peaceful days of the fifties transferred to the revolutionary days of the sixties the second “The Feminine Mystique” was published.When Friedan published her book, most of her ideas about the capability of a woman being more than a housewife were despised, while now, most people in her home country agree with her views.Friedan’s book had such a hand in changing people’s views on the roles of women, that it is still useful when issues of domestication are called into question. Finally, when a book that is powerful enough, written well enough, and passionate enough calls for social evolution, the public will…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Betty Friedan Housewife

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Betty Friedan and Barbara R. Bergmann both dissect the occupation and implications of being a housewife but from two different angles and for two different audiences.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over more than 150 years ago, women were portrayed as a weaker being, according to the men’s perspective. Women were classified as inferior to men and positioned to a life of a housewife. In fact, all women were supposed to stay home and supported the family whilst the men go to war. In the past, women did not have the rights to vote or take part in political views, while some of the other places of the continents were even forbid to leave her home. . .Until one day, one woman decided it was time to call for some drastic measures. Gloria Steinem took the initiation as a Women’s Rights Activist and protested for equal rights and women’s liberation.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Susan B Anthony Leader

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are a lot of women that have changed the face of history. Countless women have contributed to women’s rights in various ways fighting for respect and fair treatment that not long ago was ignored. Susan B. Anthony was a significant force that became a woman that took action and not just by her words, which credits her as an example of as a positive leader. Susan B. Anthony demonstrated change, endured trials and triumphs that tested her as a leader, and credibility has been deemed honorary.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In part 1 of Makers: Women Who Make America it talks about how it was complicated for women in society, because they weren’t treated equally as men. People viewed women as being less capable of what man could do. When they interviewed …… she explain how women weren’t able to run in the Boston marathon. She had a good interest in running and thought women should be able to run in the marathon as well. So she sign up for the race with just her initials, and when she was in the race everyone was surprised. When she crossed the finished line she showed how women could be good at certain sports just as men. Also another scene from the movie is when women didn’t have many job opportunities as men. It was hard for them to get jobs they were criticized by men who didn’t think it was right for women to work other than stay home and take care of their family.Also when they interview Carolyn Graglia she saids all the things women at home can do which is extremely worth while is dismissed and uworthy of any respect. This made women feel as if they were unworthy to society.…

    • 522 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Envision you are walking home and you see a rally of feminists storming through the city. You shake your head at them, puzzled as to why they are causing chaos once again. However, you hear one woman scream, “I will not leave until I gain equal pay as the rest of my male coworkers! I will not keep quiet any longer!” According to The Washington Post, “the Census Bureau calculates that the median woman in the United States makes 79 cents for every buck paid to the median man.” (Paquette) Women have always been underprivileged compared to men. Zora Neal Hurston effectively used setting, figurative language, characterization, and the manipulation of plot in Their Eyes Were Watching God to inform the audience how feminism has always been present and plays a big role in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not.…

    • 1605 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the release of Friedan’s novel, there was an overwhelming response from the readers. Many responded with utter happiness, claiming that Feminine Mystique had changed their lives, while many responded negatively. Friedan’s success led her to co-fund the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, to work towards increasing women’s rights. By being a part of this organization she influenced the change “outdated laws that were disadvantageous to women, such as sex-segregated help-wanted ads and hiring practices, unequal pay, and firing a woman who was pregnant instead of providing her with maternity leave” (NWHM). However, many African Americans felt that NOW was “too white and middle class” to address the problems poor women and racial…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Feminine Mystique Betty Friedan (1963). (n.d.). Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/friedan.htm…

    • 1463 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays