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Date of Birth: Betty Naomi Goldstein was born on February 4th, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois

Date of Death: Betty Friedan died of heart failure at the age 85 on February 4th, 2006 (her birthday) in Washington, D.C.

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Betty was the oldest of three children. Her parents, Harry Goldstein (father) and Miriam Horowitz Goldstein (mother) were immigrants from Russia and Hungary. Her father worked as a jeweler while her mother worked as a journalist until Betty was born. In 1947, Betty married Carl Friedan and had 3 children with him.

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Betty Friedan was a feminist and a Women's Right's Activist. She wrote a book called "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963 and co-founded the National Organization for Women in 1966. Betty was the first President of N O W. She explored the ideas of women finding personal fulfillment outside of their traditional roles as women.
Betty Friedan | National Women's History Museum (womenshistory.org)
Betty Friedan - HISTORY
Betty Friedan - Feminine Mystique, Books & Quotes - Biography

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Photo: Fred Palumbo/Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Quick Facts
"It is better for a woman to compete impersonally in society, as men do, than to compete for dominance in her own home with her husband, compete with her neighbors for empty status, and so smother her son that he cannot compete at all.""Man is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim."

Name

Betty Friedan

Birth Date

February 4, 1921

Death Date

February 4, 2006

Education

Smith College, University of California, Berkeley

Place of Birth

Peoria, Illinois

Place of Death

Washington, D.C.

Originally

Bettye Naomi Goldstein

Writer, feminist and women's rights activist Betty Friedan wrote 'The Feminine Mystique' (1963) and co-founded the National Organization for Women.

Who Was Betty Friedan?

In 1963, writer, feminist and women's rights activist Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which explores the idea of women finding fulfillment beyond traditional roles. Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women in 1966 and served as its first president. She published The Second Stage in 1982 and The Fountain of Age in 1993.

Early Life and Career

Friedan was born Bettye Naomi Goldstein on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois. With her book The Feminine Mystique (1963), Friedan broke new ground by exploring the idea of women finding personal fulfillment outside of their traditional roles. She also helped advance the women's rights movement as one of the founders of the National Organization for Women.

A bright student, Friedan excelled at Smith College, graduating in 1942 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Although she received a fellowship to study at the University of California, Berkeley, she only spent a brief time there before relocating in the mid-1940s to New York City. In New York, Friedan worked for a short time as a reporter. In 1947, she married Carl Friedan. The couple went on to have three children: Daniel, who was born in 1948; Jonathan, born in 1952; and Emily, born in 1956.

'The Feminine Mystique'

After the Friedans' first child was born in 1948, Friedan returned to work. She lost her job, however, after she became pregnant with her second child. Friedan then stayed home to care for her family, but she was restless as a homemaker and began to wonder if other women felt the same way she did - that she was both willing and able to be more than a stay-at-home mom. To answer this question, Friedan surveyed other graduates of Smith College. The results of her research formed the basis of her book The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963, throughout which Friedan encourages women to seek new opportunities for themselves.

The book quickly became a sensation, creating a social revolution by dispelling the myth that all women wanted to be happy homemakers and marking the start of what would become Friedan's incredibly significant role in the women's rights movement. The work is also credited with spurring second-wave feminism in the United States.

Other Betty Friedan Books

Besides The Feminine Mystique (1963), Friedan authored It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women's Movement (1976), The Second Stage (1982), The Fountain of Age (1993), Beyond Gender (1997) and her autobiography Life So Far (2000).

Co-Founding NOW, NARAL and the National Women's Political Caucus

Friedan did more than write about confining gender stereotypes - she became a force for change. Pushing for women to have a greater role in the political process, she co-founded the National Organization for Women in 1966, subsequently serving as its first president. She also fought for abortion rights by establishing the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America) in 1969. Additionally, with other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug, Friedan helped create the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971.

Later Works and Death

Seeking to help women wrestle with the demands of work both inside and outside of the home, Friedan published The Second Stage (1982), in which she presents a more moderate feminist position from her earlier work. Friedan later explored the later stages of a woman's life in The Fountain of Age, which was published in 1993, when she was in her 70s.

Friedan died of heart failure on February 4, 2006, in Washington, D.C. Today, Friedan is remembered as one of the leading voices of the women's rights movement of the 20th century. Furthermore, the work that she started is still being carried by the three organizations she helped to establish.

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"It is better for a woman to compete impersonally in society, as men do, than to compete for dominance in her own home with her husband, compete with her neighbors for empty status, and so smother her son that he cannot compete at all." "Man is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim."

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During this time, the Civil Rights movement was at it's peak. In 1964, President Johnson pushed the Civil Rights Act through Congress. It prohibited racial discrimination in public places. Shortly after, the Voting Rights Act was passed, it eliminated all poll taxes and literacy tests that were used to prohibit African Americans from voting.

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In the middle of the 1960's, student activists were on the rise. The were takeovers of college campuses and organized antiwar demonstrations. Other students even went as far as bombing and setting fire to college campuses. During this, Friedan's book "The Feminine Mystique" was being read by women all over who supported the 1963 Equal Pay Act and joined the National Organization for Women.
https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/1960s-history

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Friedan was a psychology graduate of Smith College in 1942. After college, she moved to New York and worked as a reporter for three years. She became a writer and shortly after, she married Carl Friedan in 1947. They had three children and in the late 1950's Betty began her research for her book. Friedan surveyed her old Smith College classmates at their class reunion and found that many had the same view. Most were found dissatisfied with their traditional role of the housewife. After five years of interviews with women all around the world, she finally published "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963. With the rise and popularity of the book, it drew public awareness to the Women's Movement.
Betty Friedan | National Women's History Museum (womenshistory.org)

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Background of the National Organization for Women

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Background of the National Organization for Women

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In 1966, Betty Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) with Pauli Murray and Aileen Hernandez. Friedan was the first president of the organization. Friedan authored NOW's mission statement which was, "...to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American Society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities there of in truly equal partnership with men". NOW's first action was to demand that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforce the provisions of Title Vll guaranteeing equality in employment.

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Friedan helped found the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws in 1969. Friedan organized the Women's Strike for Equality on August 26th, 1970 on the 50th anniversary of women's suffrage. Also in 1971, Friedan co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus with Congresswoman Bella Abzug, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and feminist Gloria Steinem.

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Through all the organizations Friedan was apart of she was able to change outdated laws like unfair hiring practices, gender pay inequality, and pregnancy discrimination.

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Friedan struggled to keep her leadership afloat and she was criticized by the other feminists for focusing on the issues facing primarily white, middle-class, educated, heterosexual women. Radical feminists were also upset at Friedan because she referred to lesbian women in the movement as the "lavender menace". They were also upset about her willingness to cooperate with men.

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There is still active activism going on today. Many people are protesting about women's reproductive rights and abortion rights. There are laws trying to ban women against abortion and their right to what happened to their body. Some women are still fighting for equal pay to this day. Many women are not even getting paid maternity leave, apparently its a "luxury not a necessity". On January 20th, 2018 the Women's March was a global protest the occurred on the anniversary of the 2017 Women's March. Women across the nation organized mass rallies.