Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan's seminal work, The Feminine Mystique, was born out of extensive research and dozens of interviews with women nationwide. However, the underlying motivation was profoundly personal, as Friedan herself was a housewife afflicted by what she termed “the problem that has no name.” In her book, she often mirrors her own experiences, highlighting a shared sense of desperation among housewives, which she recognized “first as a woman.” Initially aspiring to study psychology, Friedan was an exemplary student, earning numerous fellowships. Yet, she succumbed to societal pressures epitomized by the "feminine mystique," declining a fellowship that would lead to a doctorate. Transitioning to writing, she encountered firsthand how women's magazines perpetuated these ideals. After marrying, having children, and experiencing suburban domestic life, she noted a widespread discontent among housewives, prompting her to pen articles about this unnamed issue. These musings evolved into The Feminine Mystique, a catalyst for the second-wave feminist movement. As a trailblazer in feminism, Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and served as its inaugural president, with her book credited for inciting a pivotal chapter in American feminism.

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, profoundly influenced mid-20th-century thought with his ideas on human sexuality and repression. According to Friedan, while Freud’s critiques of repressive moral codes were initially seen as empowering women’s emancipation, his theories on femininity became a double-edged sword. Freud postulated that women's perceived biological inferiority, due to their lack of a penis, doomed them to social subordination. This "penis envy" theory, originally detailing a developmental stage for Victorian girls, was manipulated by 1950s propagators of the feminine mystique to discredit feminists and women seeking equality. Friedan criticized this misuse of Freud's theories, arguing that they were oversimplified and not re-evaluated in light of modern scientific advancements. Freud’s reduced scientific thinking, she argued, devolved into a quasi-religious doctrine that uniquely failed to reinterpret his Victorian-era insights on femininity, unlike his other theories which evolved over time.

Margaret Mead

Anthropologist Margaret Mead significantly impacted societal perceptions of gender roles through her functionalist approach. Initially, her research on cultures with reversed gender roles questioned societal norms. However, her later work inadvertently supported the feminine mystique by focusing on the social importance of childbearing. In her writings, Mead suggested that women's biological ability to bear children dictated their primary roles as wives and mothers. This stance, while possibly intended to elevate the status of women, paradoxically reinforced restrictive roles. Friedan points out Mead's contradiction: although she advocated traditional roles, Mead herself achieved considerable professional success, thus not conforming to the ideals she promoted. Despite contributing to the feminine mystique, Mead's professional accomplishments and her efforts to humanize sex provided significant feminist contributions.

A.C. Kinsey

Alfred Kinsey’s pioneering sex studies played a controversial role in the narrative of the feminine mystique. His initial findings suggested that educated women experienced less sexual satisfaction than their less-educated counterparts. Proponents of the feminine mystique used these results to argue that women should prioritize domestic life. However, when Kinsey published the complete study, his conclusions were oppositional, revealing that educated women, in fact, reported greater sexual fulfillment than those who married young. Friedan emphasizes that the early misinterpretation of Kinsey's findings was detrimental, as it promoted the feminine mystique, ensnaring women in roles that limited their sexual and personal fulfillment. Additionally, Kinsey’s research into the depersonalization of sex and the sexual insatiability of housewives provided a basis for Friedan’s argument that the feminine mystique led women to seek fulfillment through sex, highlighting the mystique’s negative implications.

A.H. Maslow

A.H. Maslow's theories on human needs offered...