Seminar of American Civilization Prof.
Octavian Roske University of Bucharest, 13 January, 2011
th
Mihilescu Cristina Alina, II B Romanian-English, group 5
BETTY FRIEDAN AND THE 19TH CENTURY AMERICAN WOMEN It took, and it still takes, extraordinary strength of purpose for women to pursue their own life plans when society does not expect it of them. The following essay deals with my personal opinion on the last chapter of Betty Friedans book The Feminine Mystique entitled A New Plan for Women. The following paragraphs aim to express my personal view regarding Betty Friedans attitude towards the condition of women in her time. First of all, it is my strong conviction that education is of utmost importance in the life of any individual and it should be accessible to both women and men. I also believe that it was the same conviction that, in the middle of the 19th century, motivated Betty Friedan to fight for the initiation and promotion of a program that would permit middle-class American housewives to continue their education and have a profession without having to neglect or withdraw from their family life. I think she was very aware of the fact that in order for a country to develop women had to have access to formal education as well. In my opinion, Friedans efforts played and important role in changing the way women from America were viewed in their own country. She tried to change the preconception that womens purpose in life was to dedicate themselves their husbands, their children and to the household responsibilities and should not aspire to a successful career. Furthermore, I think that not only the program she initiated is worthy of respect, but also her attitude towards the discrimination of women proves to be admirable. She encouraged women not to tolerate the discrimination of men or ignore it and hope it will go away, but fight it. However, from my point of view, Betty Friedan was above all a fighter for equality, because she also tried to teach women not expect privileges because of their sex, but stand next to men as their equals. She encouraged them not to be afraid to compete, to put as much dedication and hard work in their professions as they did in their duties at home, to deal with matters in their own ways and not copy the patterns that men have created in certain professions.
All the more, I believe that Betty Friedans text was very inspiring for women in her time and served as a manifesto that paved the way to a different conception of the American woman: from the pious, pure, submissive woman to a self-reliant, independent, courageous woman, a woman that can provide for herself, that neither feels threatened by men, nor inferior to them. Although some probably regarded her as idealistic, I think that she was a very sensible woman. She realized that women were as capable as men to succeed in any profession, but at the same time she was conscious of the fact that women needed the support of their family and especially of their husbands in order to cope with the stress of this double responsibility: the one at home and the one at work. Betty Friedan admits that having the help of her husband and children in matters of household is extremely important for a woman so that she could be successful at work without neglecting her home and family and vice versa. In conclusion, I regard Betty Friedan as a powerful, intelligent woman who believed in a society where women and men were partners, a society where democracy gained momentum, because the equality between men and women was not an issue that concerned only the latter, but the entire country.
