WIST Quotations

Friedan, Betty -- The Feminine Mystique (1963)

Dave — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 18:16:39 +0000

To do the work that you are capable of doing is the mark of maturity.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
The Feminine Mystique (1963)
(Source)

Friedan, Betty -- The Feminine Mystique, ch. 14 (1963)

Dave — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 19:05:31 +0000

It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
The Feminine Mystique, ch. 14 (1963)
(Source)

Friedan, Betty -- The Feminine Mystique, ch. 14 (1963)

Dave — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:24:35 +0000

A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex but neither should she “adjust” to prejudice and discrimination. She must learn to compete then, not as a woman, but as a human being.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
The Feminine Mystique, ch. 14 (1963)
(Source)

Friedan, Betty -- The Feminine Mystique, Epilogue (1974 ed.)

Dave — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 20:56:10 +0000

Men weren’t really the enemy — they were fellow victims suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
The Feminine Mystique, Epilogue (1974 ed.)
(Source)

Sometimes paraphrased: "Man is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim."

Friedan, Betty -- Interview by David Sheff, Playboy (Sep 1992)

Dave — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 14:16:45 +0000

FRIEDAN: There was a masculine mystique, too.

PLAYBOY: What was it?

FRIEDAN: Men had to be supermen: stoic, responsible meal tickets. Dominance is a burden. Most men who are honest will admit that.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) American writer, feminist, activist
Interview by David Sheff, Playboy (Sep 1992)
(Source)

Reprinted in Janann Sherman, Interviews with Betty Friedan (2002).