Born in 1947 to a married 19 year old CCNY sophomore who was encouraged to leave school when she became a mother, I read Friedan's book when I was 16 years old and included it in the curriculum of Women's Studies class that I taught at Simmons College in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The book was pivotal to my understanding of the impact of "social pressure" on women's lives and I never relinquished my respect for it, even during Betty's long trial in the movement and the fervent critique that so many women had because she didn't account for all American women.
Born in 1947 to a married 19 year old CCNY sophomore who was encouraged to leave school when she became a mother, I read Friedan's book when I was 16 years old and included it in the curriculum of Women's Studies class that I taught at Simmons College in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The book was pivotal to my understanding of the impact of "social pressure" on women's lives and I never relinquished my respect for it, even during Betty's long trial in the movement and the fervent critique that so many women had because she didn't account for all American women.