Video: 'Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique'

(Tuesday, February 19, 1963) — The Feminine Mystique, a book by Betty Friedan that is widely credited with sparking second-wave feminism in the United States, was published today by W. W. Norton.

Friedan used the book to challenge the widely shared belief that “fulfillment as a woman had only one definition for American women after 1949—the housewife-mother.”

In 1957, Friedan was asked to conduct a survey of her former Smith College classmates for their 15th-anniversary reunion; the results, in which she found that many of them were unhappy with their lives as housewives, prompted her to begin research for The Feminine Mystique, conducting interviews with other suburban housewives, as well as researching psychology, media, and advertising.

Video: '1950s Housewife to Women's Activist: Betty Friedan'

She originally intended to create an article on the topic, not a book, but no magazine would publish the work.

The phrase “feminine mystique” was coined by Friedan to describe the assumptions that women would be fulfilled by their housework, marriage, sexual lives, and children.

The prevailing belief was that women who were truly feminine should not want to work, get an education, or have political opinions. Friedan wanted to prove that women were unsatisfied and could not voice their feelings.