betty friedan the problem that has no name

In poor countries girls are forced to only work and be feminine in society, they don’t have a chance for advanced education or even looking for jobs that they hope to do because the only work they could do was housework, child care and being a good wife. Women do all the child bearing, cleaning and satisfy their husbands while the husbands work for the family. There are some women in third world countries that do still get married when they are teens and on top of that also even bearing children because that is what the norms is still in third world countries. This ties into the social phenomenon in contemporary society today because although this excerpt focuses on American women, this situation still exists in third world countries that lack resources and live in poor working conditions.

Following the norm of being the kin keeper and the role of a mother and wife is the only way they would be worthy. There was no sense of independency and not many opportunities for American women in the twentieth century to be able to achieve their own dreams.

Women in the 20th century were getting engaged when they were teenagers because they believed that it was only normal to identify as a wife and mother in American society. But experts have ingrained into American women’s minds in the 20th century- predominantly even until the end of 1950s, that being truly feminine and devoting their lives to looking after their husband and having children all their life was more admirable and praiseworthy. Most American women in the 20th century believe that they are missing out on all the opportunities to achieve equality-one example would be given the opportunity to be in the masculine work force, jobs including to be president or a doctor.

Friedan strongly expresses in this excerpt how American women would think about all the opportunities they are missing out on whether it is to achieve a greater education, job or to obtain political rights instead of having to be identified as a suburban wife that only does housework, take care of her children and to be feminine with her husband. Women have always had a predetermined, already set role given by the perception of the greater society. The Problem That Has No Name by Betty Friedan Paragraphs 1-5: Celina Cheung

1 The Problem That Has No Name by Betty Friedan.

Betty friedan the problem that has no name