Be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power in the hands of the Husbands. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies, we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.

The words of Abigail Adams, one of the earliest American advocates of women’s rights, were prophetic. Over the centuries, there is no one in the women’s movement more renowned or pervasive in her presence, or more long-lasting than Betty Friedan. Her bold novel, The Feminine Mystique, served as a catalyst and helped spur on the twentieth century women’s movement, which then led to the establishment of lasting benefits for women today. She is known as a feminist and an important figurehead for women, a great influence on women’s rights.

Betty Friedan was born Elizabeth Naomi Goldstein on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois. Friedan, her older sister, Amy Goldstein, a

When Betty Friedan was a child, she had to wear metal braces on her legs until she was three to correct the tendency to bow. Miriam Goldstein thought her daughter’s prominent nose, inherited by her father, made her unattractive. Friedan later wore orthodontic braces and eye-glasses. Miriam Goldstein thought her daughter smart, but plain and considered Amy Goldstein (the younger daughter by one and a half year) the pretty one. This caused a bitter rivalry between the two sisters. Friedan recalled that her mother “was very critical of [her] and made [her] feel very insecure.” Miriam Goldstein nagged Friedan to dress classy like her and they had loud arguments when Friedan insisted on dressing sloppily and keeping her room untidy.

Not only was Betty Friedan an influential spokeswoman for the women’s movement nationally, but also internationally. In 1974 she had an audience with Pope Paul VI and argued the Catholic Church to “come to terms with the full personhood of women.” During the next several years, she moved away from central leadership in the movement to concentrate on writing and teacher. Thus, she wrote a regular column for McCall’s magazine and taught at several colleges and universities, including Temple University, Yale University, Queens College, and the New School for Social Research.

During her sophomore year of college, she was hospitalized because of a collapsed lung, but Friedan still finished the year with an A in every class. She also experienced another medical condition when frustration with a boyfriend induced suddenly afflicted asthma attacks. In that same year 1943, her father died. Friedan and her siblings believed that he had worked himself to death.

Some topics in this essay:
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