Friedan's exposé of the unspoken discontent among educated American housewives sold over a million copies and is widely credited with sparking a new era of feminist activism. She went on to co-found the National Organization for Women in 1966, becoming one of the most influential voices in the American women's movement.
Friedan's path to feminist icon began almost accidentally, with a fifteen-year college reunion survey she conducted among her Smith College classmates. She expected to find contentment among the educated, suburban women of her generation; instead she uncovered widespread anxiety, boredom, and depression that she termed 'the problem that has no name' — the gap between the domestic ideal sold to women and the reality of unfulfilled lives.
'The Feminine Mystique,' published in 1963, expanded that survey into a broader critique of postwar American culture, arguing that advertising, media, and even psychology had conspired to convince women that fulfillment lay solely in marriage, children, and homemaking. The book struck a nerve immediately, selling over a million copies in paperback and prompting an outpouring of letters from women who felt suddenly, finally understood.
Friedan followed the book's success with direct action, co-founding the National Organization for Women in 1966 and serving as its first president, pushing for equal pay, reproductive rights, and an end to sex discrimination in hiring. She later helped organize the 1970 Women's Strike for Equality, which drew tens of thousands into the streets, cementing her place as one of the architects of modern American feminism — though her legacy is also debated for largely centering the concerns of white, middle-class women.
Key people: Betty Friedan