The Feminine Mystique Theme Analysis - 2062 Words

Vanessa Rosas COMM 412 Dr. Pfister May 8, 2015 The Feminine Mystique Theme Analysis Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is a riveting account of the plight women faced in the 1950s through the 1960s. Friedan described their predicament as the â€Å"problem that has no name† because it was a vague sense of an underlying discontentment that middle to upper middle class American housewives felt despite seemingly having it all. Friedan analyzed aspects of the problem with a series of testimonies by housewives themselves, psychology research, and by critically examining media of the time. In this analysis, I will evaluate reoccurring themes in the book including essentializing, sex, and sexuality. The common practice of essentializing gender based on biological sex characteristics ultimately led to the discontentment many housewives of the time were experiencing in their socially assigned roles. Friedan argued that many women attempted to ease their frustrations and obtain fulfillment through their sexuality. The themes are inextricably linked to each oth er and revealed the ambiguity of human nature, gender roles, and of what inner satisfaction truly means. Essentializing First of all, Wood (2015) defined essentializing as the tendency to make generalized assumptions about individuals based on the idea that all members of their group must share the same â€Å"essential† characteristics. Friedan cited various examples of media and different institutions of the era that inevitablyShow MoreRelatedPrimary Source Analysis on The Feminine Mystique1128 Words   |  5 PagesPotter 1 Rebecca Potter Gray Section 4975 12 May 2015 Primary Source Analysis on The Feminine Mystique The Feminine Mystique is the title of a book written by Betty Friedan who has also founded The National Organization for Women (NOW) to help US women gain equal rights. She describes the Feminine Mystique as the heightened awareness of the expectations of women and how each woman has to fit a certain role as a little girl, an uneducated and unemployed teenager, and finally as a wife andRead More Weaknesses of Esther and Plath Exposed in Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar1174 Words   |  5 Pagesconviction, as The Bell Jar is essentially her autobiography.   The fitting title symbolizes not only her suffocation and mental illness, but also the internal struggle of Plaths alter ego and novel protagonist Esther Greenwood.   The novel illustrates the theme confinement by highlighting the weaknesses of both Esther and Plath.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Esthers first statement, It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs   (1) sets the tone for the novel and establishes her preoccupationRead MorePortrayal Of Women s Film : A Recent Post On Vanity Fair And The Presence Of Wonder Woman1989 Words   |  8 Pagesimportant and salient point in the society. 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