Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
I got a feeling (or this mystique ain't my mystique).
After World War II, American Middle Class women were supposed to be the happiest people on the planet. Why then were so many women experiencing depression, neurosis and a growing sense of unfulfilled potential? The phrase the "problem with no name" was coined by Betty Friedan in the wake of an unspoken epidemic sweeping through the suburban homes in the 1950's and 1960's. Friedan wrote the book that would finally offer a title to this problem in 1963; "The Feminine Mystique."
In the 1950's women had everything they could dream of and little stress to boot. Willingly removed from the public sphere they finally had time to bake their own bread, sew clothing for themselves and their children and get dinner on the table promptly at 5:15pm. The only fight for the modern day women was to find and keep a husband and be responsible for the happiness of him and her five children. Women were thrilled about the new way to wax their floors and microwave dinner. With no unfeminine concerns like the economy and politics, women everywhere were joyously filling in the census blank with the occupation of "housewife."
Freudian theories cannot be entirely blamed for the creation of the feminine mystique but it can be said that the ideas put forth by Freud significantly contributed to its conception. For instance "Penis Envy", was a concept used as an explanation of what was wrong with American women. Men and Women were different and women strove to compensate for her lacking phallus. More to blame was the overwhelming acceptance of Freudian psychology as ideology for the decades following World War II. This allowed the masses to perpetuate the school of thought found in Frued's theories. Legitimizing the mindset that women couldn't possibly want more than to satisfy the needs of her husband and children led to a movement reshaping the way several generations of women were raised. Women were taught that their main goal in life was fulfilling the wants and needs of her superior. A daughter is ruled by her father first and her husband second. The repressive arrangement led to women being herded back into the home and into Victorian era prejudice.
If this were the 50's and 60's, women my age would have long since become wives and mothers. I have peers that are married and a lot of 26 year old women I know are already or in the process of becoming Mothers. I've heard some say that the Feminist movement has put women in a more undesirable place now than when they had fewer choices. The idea that women are supposed to be able to do it all seems like a mixed bag when considering Friedan's time versus the present. Sure, women should be able to have a career and a family and juggle everything perfectly while maintaining a sense of fulfillment. However, women are human beings. Women are not exempt from the basic human desires and feelings of selfishness and occasional lethargy. Feminism is about choice. Though that simplifies it significantly it doesn't change the fact that for most of history women have been told what their roles are and what they need to do to find fulfillment. Betty Friedan's book comes right out and says that women cannot be faulted for seeking happiness and fulfillment outside the private sphere. Women are not inferior to men, they are different and equal. Humans need to learn and thrive and be challenged in order to function successfully and women are not an exception.
Stephanie Coontz revisits Friedan’s work in her new book "A Strange Stirring." Published in the beginning of this year, Coontz argues that the same problems facing women in 1963 are still very relevant today. Coontz also examines the obvious gap in The Feminine Mystique which is of course, the omission of women of color and the working class. Coontz does praise the condemnation of the Freudian psychiatric methods that suggested women need not search for meaning beyond that of their roles of mothers and wives. Stay tuned for a more in depth review of Coontz's book after I acquire it here and read the text in its entirety.
In the 1950's women had everything they could dream of and little stress to boot. Willingly removed from the public sphere they finally had time to bake their own bread, sew clothing for themselves and their children and get dinner on the table promptly at 5:15pm. The only fight for the modern day women was to find and keep a husband and be responsible for the happiness of him and her five children. Women were thrilled about the new way to wax their floors and microwave dinner. With no unfeminine concerns like the economy and politics, women everywhere were joyously filling in the census blank with the occupation of "housewife."
Freudian theories cannot be entirely blamed for the creation of the feminine mystique but it can be said that the ideas put forth by Freud significantly contributed to its conception. For instance "Penis Envy", was a concept used as an explanation of what was wrong with American women. Men and Women were different and women strove to compensate for her lacking phallus. More to blame was the overwhelming acceptance of Freudian psychology as ideology for the decades following World War II. This allowed the masses to perpetuate the school of thought found in Frued's theories. Legitimizing the mindset that women couldn't possibly want more than to satisfy the needs of her husband and children led to a movement reshaping the way several generations of women were raised. Women were taught that their main goal in life was fulfilling the wants and needs of her superior. A daughter is ruled by her father first and her husband second. The repressive arrangement led to women being herded back into the home and into Victorian era prejudice.
If this were the 50's and 60's, women my age would have long since become wives and mothers. I have peers that are married and a lot of 26 year old women I know are already or in the process of becoming Mothers. I've heard some say that the Feminist movement has put women in a more undesirable place now than when they had fewer choices. The idea that women are supposed to be able to do it all seems like a mixed bag when considering Friedan's time versus the present. Sure, women should be able to have a career and a family and juggle everything perfectly while maintaining a sense of fulfillment. However, women are human beings. Women are not exempt from the basic human desires and feelings of selfishness and occasional lethargy. Feminism is about choice. Though that simplifies it significantly it doesn't change the fact that for most of history women have been told what their roles are and what they need to do to find fulfillment. Betty Friedan's book comes right out and says that women cannot be faulted for seeking happiness and fulfillment outside the private sphere. Women are not inferior to men, they are different and equal. Humans need to learn and thrive and be challenged in order to function successfully and women are not an exception.
Stephanie Coontz revisits Friedan’s work in her new book "A Strange Stirring." Published in the beginning of this year, Coontz argues that the same problems facing women in 1963 are still very relevant today. Coontz also examines the obvious gap in The Feminine Mystique which is of course, the omission of women of color and the working class. Coontz does praise the condemnation of the Freudian psychiatric methods that suggested women need not search for meaning beyond that of their roles of mothers and wives. Stay tuned for a more in depth review of Coontz's book after I acquire it here and read the text in its entirety.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)