Betty Friedan, dies at 85
Feb. 5th, 2006 01:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zalenahttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/national/05friedan.html?hp&ex=1139202000&en=58a609285f256bcc&ei=5094&partner=homepage
I read The Feminine Mystique in high school, thinking (before I started) that it was a manual on how to seduce men by being mysterious. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Even as culturally dated as it was in the early 90s, it still got me pretty fired up. I subsequently read a lot of heavy feminist theory, and was totally worn out on the subject by the time I got to college. I still struggle with second wave feminism as perceptions of it have become incredibly warped over the years. Feminism has become something of a joke, even as we still live in a cultural that is maimed by discriminative attitudes and behaviors.
Third wave feminism is in many ways more scary because it has disconnected itself almost entirely from any legal fight and is more generally portrayed as women behaving like men. It took some of the cultural feminist fight of 2nd wave and jettisoned the legal battle. Feminism has failed in its battle to redefine social norms in ways that are more inclusive to women. The key isn't to have women acting like men (or vice versa) but to create a situation that is inclusive of different values and behaviors, in which people aren't discriminated against on the basis of biology or gendered behaviors. Gender inequality doesn't just impact women. Any system of inequality is just as harmful to the oppressors as it is to the oppressed.
Anyway, I'm sure I have more to say about this subject, but my mind keeps wandering to several decidedly unfeminist subjects.
I read The Feminine Mystique in high school, thinking (before I started) that it was a manual on how to seduce men by being mysterious. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Even as culturally dated as it was in the early 90s, it still got me pretty fired up. I subsequently read a lot of heavy feminist theory, and was totally worn out on the subject by the time I got to college. I still struggle with second wave feminism as perceptions of it have become incredibly warped over the years. Feminism has become something of a joke, even as we still live in a cultural that is maimed by discriminative attitudes and behaviors.
Third wave feminism is in many ways more scary because it has disconnected itself almost entirely from any legal fight and is more generally portrayed as women behaving like men. It took some of the cultural feminist fight of 2nd wave and jettisoned the legal battle. Feminism has failed in its battle to redefine social norms in ways that are more inclusive to women. The key isn't to have women acting like men (or vice versa) but to create a situation that is inclusive of different values and behaviors, in which people aren't discriminated against on the basis of biology or gendered behaviors. Gender inequality doesn't just impact women. Any system of inequality is just as harmful to the oppressors as it is to the oppressed.
Anyway, I'm sure I have more to say about this subject, but my mind keeps wandering to several decidedly unfeminist subjects.
