Feminist who works and pioneers relentlessly for women's equality: Who is Betty Friedan?

Her real name, Bettye Naomi Goldstein, was born on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois. She was born the son of Harry and Miriam Horwitz Goldstein, whose Jewish parents were from Russia and Hungary, and her father, a jewelry store owner. Her mother wrote articles on the society page of a newspaper after her father got sick.

Active in both Marxist and Jewish circles as a young girl, Friedan was educated at Peoria High School in Illinois, where she became involved in the school newspaper. However, her application to write a column was denied, she. As a result, Friedan and six other friends launched a literary magazine called "Tide".

Friedan enrolled in a private liberal arts school for women called Smith College in 1938. Having won a scholarship in her first year for her outstanding academic performance, Friedan became interested in poetry in her second year. In 1941, as editor-in-chief of SCAN (Smith College Associated News), shared editorials became more political under her leadership. At the same time, she took a strong anti-war stance and caused controversy at times. She graduated with honors from the psychology department in 1942.

She spent a year at the University of California, Berkeley in 1943 pursuing her graduate study in psychology. Continuing to mingle with the Marxists, Fierdan became more politically active. After leaving Berkeley, Fierdan began working as a journalist for leftist and labor union publications. Between 1943 and 1946 she wrote for the Federated Press she. Later she worked for United Electrical Workers' UE News from 1946 to 1952. Among her duties, she was reporting on the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

Friedan, who later married, was fired from the union newspaper UE News in 1952 for being pregnant with her second child. After leaving, she continued as a freelance writer for various magazines. According to biographer Daniel Horowitz, Friedan has been interpreted as 'starting as a labor journalist when she first became aware of the oppression and exclusion of women'.

For his 15th college reunion in 1957, Friedan launched a survey of college graduates focusing on their education, experience, and satisfaction with their current life. Having started to publish articles about what she called the "problem without a name," Friedan received responses from many housewives who were grateful that they were not alone in having this problem.

Later, Friedan decided to revisit this subject and turn it into a book called "The Feminine Mystique", and her book was published in 1963. In her book, she described a depressed suburban housewife who dropped out of college at the age of 19 to marry and raise four children. In addition to challenging the hegemonic sexism in US society, her book has also managed to attract attention for its tendency to expand women's education, political rights, and participation in social movements.

The book entered the bestseller list as it made one believe that it significantly shaped national and world events. At the same time, it is considered by many historians to be the driving force of the "second wave" of the women's movement. Friedan wrote an article called "The Feminine Mystique", which was published in Ladies' Home Journal in June 1964. Friedan, one of the most influential feminists of the twentieth century, was also opposed to equating feminism with lesbianism. In 1964, Friedan appeared on television to address the fact that the media at that point tried to dismiss the movement as a joke and a centering argument.

In 1966 Friedan became the co-founder and first president of the social welfare organization "National Women's Organization" (NOW). Under the Friedan administration, the organization vigorously advocated for the legal equality of women and men. VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the movement's first two major legislative victories, was opened by the agency's allegations of sex discrimination. She also supported the legalization of abortion, an issue that has divided some feminists. The institution has also helped women gain equal access to public places. Despite all the successful plans and projects, fierce opposition arose within the organization due to the pressures and indecision. In 1969, Friedan resigned as president.

In the following years, she founded the "National Women's Political Party Group" with several prominent women's movement leaders. In 1973, Friedan founded First Women's Bank and Trust Company. That same year, she pioneered the founding of the 'National Association for the Abolition of Abortion Laws', which changed its name to the 'National Association for Abortion Rights Action' after the Supreme Court legalized abortion.

In 1982, she published another book for the post-feminist 1980s called "The Second Phase" about family life based on women's overcoming social and legal barriers. The feminist movement has also led her to focus on economic issues, equality in employment and work, childcare, and other issues where both women and men can balance family and work. She tried to reduce the focus on abortion, rape, and pornography, as a few other issues.

Also, initially ignoring lesbians, Friedan said at a conference in 1977 that she supported the resolution on lesbian rights. In addition, she supported the notion that abortion is a woman's choice, that it should not be a crime or simply the choice of a doctor or anyone involved. These thoughts and conversations led to death threats and the cancellation of two events.

Friedan was credited for initiating the contemporary feminist movement and writing a book that became one of the cornerstones of American feminism. Her activist work and her book have had a critical impact on many ordinary women. Friedan appeared in the 2013 documentary film "Makers: Women Who Make America" about the women's movement. The following year, a biography of Friedan was featured in "American National Biography Online" (ANB).

Personal life

In 1947 she married theatrical producer Carl Friedan and they divorced in May 1969. The couple has three children named Daniel, Emily and Jonathan.

Friedan died of heart failure at her home in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2006. Friedan was portrayed by actress Tracey Ullman in the 2020 FX limited TV miniseries "Miss America." She was also portrayed in an episode of the HBO Max series "Julia". She has published six books titled "The Mystery of Femininity" (1963), "It Changed My Life: Writings on the Women's Movement" (1976), "Phase Two" (1981), "The Spring of the Age" (1993), "Beyond Gender" (1997) and "Life Until Now" (2000).