Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan
Alyse Dina
Florida State University / Spring 09
Intro to Women’s Studies – Dr. Rachel Sutz Pienta
“When she stopped conforming to the conventional picture of femininity she finally began to enjoy being a woman” a quote by Betty Friedan. Betty Friedan is one of the most influential feminist pioneers of our lifetime. In this paper I will be discussing her life, her famous novel the Feminine Mystique, and other works Betty Friedan has accomplished.
Betty Friedan was born Bettye Naomi Goldstein on February 4, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois. Her father, Harry Goldstein, emigrated from a town near Kiev and ran a jewelry store. Her mother, Miriam Horowitz Goldstein, was the daughter of immigrants from Hungary and she was a writer for the society pages of the Peoria newspaper. Shortly after her parents got married her father made her mother quit her job. After being forced to quit her mother urged Betty to pursue a career in journalism, possibly to live vicariously through her. Friedan once said that her feminism began “in her mother’s discontent” after being forced to quit her job after she got married (Horowitz, Friedan). After high school Betty Friedan went on to Smith College in 1938 to study Psychology. In Betty Freidan’s novel Life so Far she states that she didn’t really want to go to Smith, she wanted to go to Chicago. She went on to become the news editor of the Smith newspaper. Betty went on to graduate summa cum laude from Smith College in 1942. She then went on to graduate school at the University of California at Berkley. Friedan only stayed at Berkley for one year because “the intellectual quality of her graduate education compared to her undergraduate education” (Horowitz). After leaving Berkley Friedan went on to land a job as a labor journalist for the Federated Press in 1943. While at the Federated Press, Betty’s work was edited by men with
Alyse Dina
Florida State University / Spring 09
Intro to Women’s Studies – Dr. Rachel Sutz Pienta
“When she stopped conforming to the conventional picture of femininity she finally began to enjoy being a woman” a quote by Betty Friedan. Betty Friedan is one of the most influential feminist pioneers of our lifetime. In this paper I will be discussing her life, her famous novel the Feminine Mystique, and other works Betty Friedan has accomplished.
Betty Friedan was born Bettye Naomi Goldstein on February 4, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois. Her father, Harry Goldstein, emigrated from a town near Kiev and ran a jewelry store. Her mother, Miriam Horowitz Goldstein, was the daughter of immigrants from Hungary and she was a writer for the society pages of the Peoria newspaper. Shortly after her parents got married her father made her mother quit her job. After being forced to quit her mother urged Betty to pursue a career in journalism, possibly to live vicariously through her. Friedan once said that her feminism began “in her mother’s discontent” after being forced to quit her job after she got married (Horowitz, Friedan). After high school Betty Friedan went on to Smith College in 1938 to study Psychology. In Betty Freidan’s novel Life so Far she states that she didn’t really want to go to Smith, she wanted to go to Chicago. She went on to become the news editor of the Smith newspaper. Betty went on to graduate summa cum laude from Smith College in 1942. She then went on to graduate school at the University of California at Berkley. Friedan only stayed at Berkley for one year because “the intellectual quality of her graduate education compared to her undergraduate education” (Horowitz). After leaving Berkley Friedan went on to land a job as a labor journalist for the Federated Press in 1943. While at the Federated Press, Betty’s work was edited by men with