The Feminine Mystique

Front Cover
W. W. Norton & Company, Mar 1, 2010 - Social Science - 592 pages

The book that changed the consciousness of a country—and the world.

Landmark, groundbreaking, classic—these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations, which still remain fresh, ever since. A national bestseller, with over 1 million copies sold.
 

Contents

Introduction by Anna Quindlen
11
Two Generations Later
17
Introduction to the Tenth Anniversary Edition
43
Preface and Acknowledgments
49
The Problem That Has No Name
57
The Happy Housewife Heroine
79
The Crisis in Womans Identity
123
The Passionate Journey
137
The Mistaken Choice
268
The Sexual Sell
298
Housewifery Expands to Fill the Time Available
333
The Comfortable
393
The Forfeited Self
429
A New Life Plan for Women
463
Epilogue
513
Notes
533

The Sexual Solipsism of Sigmund Freud
166
The Functional Freeze the Feminine Protest
195
The SexDirected Educators
227
Index
559
Reading Group Guide
585
Copyright

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About the author (2010)

Betty Friedan (1921–2006), a transformational leader of the women’s movement, founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and authored many works, including The Second Stage, The Fountain of Age, and Life So Far.

Anna Quindlen is an award-winning columnist and novelist. She left journalism in 1995 to write fiction full time and has published three bestsellers. She lives in New York City.

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