Betty Friedan

The Goddess Tradition Almost all of the

earliest figurines that we have found are of female characters, most often pregnant.

A Mutual Arrangement? I think it is important

to at least consider that the division of labor did not start out as a patriarchal conspiracy, but as a mutually beneficial arrangement.

A Vindication for the Rights of Women Mary Wollstonecraft

wrote her book in 1793. This is considered the first published statement on the needs for women to receive equality is society, especially education.

The Problem That Has No Name

“The fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease.”

“She Changed the Course of History” “it took a driven,

superaggressive, egocentric, almost lunatic dynamo to rock the world the way she did.”

The Feminine Mystique “No matter how

much she had…she sometimes felt a longing for something more.”

Breaking Down Barriers “It was only after we broke through the

feminine mystique and said women were people, no more no less, and therefore demanded our right to participate in the mainstream of society, to equal opportunity to earn and be trained and have our own voice in the big decisions of our destiny, that the problems of women themselves became visible, and women began to take their own experience seriously.”

Feminism and Family Life Family life has

changed; no one doubts that. But is it fair to blame the liberation of women for that change? Friedan is certain the answer is no.

Summary I am left wondering

about the philosophical meaning of being a man or a woman. We are not the same. It seems important that we don’t lose that difference.

The Real Enemies The real enemies to

“family values” are the forces of greed and consumerism, and a lack of concern for the young, the disabled, the elderly, the poor, and the environment.