The Importance Of Work Betty Friedan Analysis

In the essay “The Importance of Work,” Betty Friedan used her platform as an activist and author to motivate women to escape their domestic roles as a housewife. Friedan wrote the Feminine Mystique, which inspired the second wave of feminism. In this book, Friedan’s goal was to assess the “problem that has no name,” or the idea that women should be limited to only providing for their spouses and children, which restricted their individuality (Kirszner and Mendell 790). In her essay, she wanted to first explain that finding one’s identity, male or female, required performing work that provided something bigger for society. Her central argument; however, was to enable the women in the 1960s to seek their own approval. With the persuasion of her

Her whole life was spent soaking in negativity about women and their place in the world. With her strong opinions about feminism, she pushed for change, which is why she headed the National Organization for Women. Friedan was active in each revival of feminism, for she believed women were not valued and did not value themselves. In 1963, she published the Feminine Mystique. Her stance on feminism and a woman’s role in society can be clearly stated in this book. The writing of Friedan’s book was prompted by the second round of American feminism. The civil rights movement also persuaded her to write her book. She often refers to the second wave of American feminism and how that sparked the writing of her book. Friedan used many historic events to build her argument. In her essay, she addressed the 19th amendment, the industrial revolution, the civil rights movement, and the second round of feminism, and she even makes comparisons to the holocaust. Friedan's lifetime was spent digesting a woman's role in the world, and she quickly formed her own opinion and began sharing it with the world. Today, women are valued beyond the conformities of a housewife because of people like