Book of the day: Betty Friedan / The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan’s book “The Feminine Mystique” was published in 1963. During 1964, the book became a bestselling nonfiction book with over one million copies sold. In the book, Friedan challenged the widely shared belief in the 1950s that "fulfillment as a woman had only one definition for American women after 1949, the housewife-mother." Andi Zeisler described the book as, “Feminine Mystique is the Tupac Shakur of literary feminism, reincarnated at least once every decade with new insights that engender old beefs while at the same time serving as a reminder of why it’s a classic.”
Betty Friedan was born on February 4, 1921, United States. She was a feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. In 1966, she co-founded and was elected the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW). In 1970, after stepping down as NOW's first president, she organized the nationwide Women's Strike for Equality on August 26, the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote. In 1971, she joined other leading feminists to establish the National Women's Political Caucus. Betty Friedan remained active in politics and advocacy until the late 1990s, authoring six books. Friedan died of congestive heart failure on February 4, 2006.