Question

Read the first chapter of Betty Friedans the feminine mystique. what is the problem that friedan outlines

Answer 1

Answer:

Answers may vary, but your response should include the following points: Friedan discusses the dissatisfaction that middle-class women felt into the role society offered them: wife and mother. The problem was that this definition of “feminine” did not include “woman,” that is, a self. Women were encouraged to seek fulfillment through others. They were not expected to go to college and get a profession. Instead, women became the center of the family and were supposed to devote themselves to maintaining a happy home. That meant a life of consumerism—buying new products to make their houses prettier, their kids healthier, and their husbands happier. If they wanted to find meaning in life, society didn’t expect them to look beyond raising kids. In fact, if they didn’t marry and have children, their lives were considered “sad” and wasted.

Explanation:

Sample answer from edmentum

Answer 2

Betty Friedan outlines the problem in the first chapter of feminine mystique that women were told by society how to live their lives.

The first chapter of Feminine mystique by Betty Friedan is titled "The problem that has no name". The author uses this name to reference that the problem at hand is not one that was being addressed or openly spoken about at the time. She states many issues surrounding women, such as;

• They are told how to dress
• They are expected to be housewives
• It is frowned upon for them to seek higher education
• They must feel fulfilled to live as they are expected to

among many others. Every problem outlined by the author shares a common theme that the author tries to convey, women are being controlled by rules and expectations that were not created by women.

Betty Friedan writes about how women are told to be housewives, raise the children and serve their husbands, and that this was the highest form of glory and femininity they should aspire to achieve. She offers statistics on the ever-decreasing percentage of women who attend college, mirrored by the rapid increase in birth rates as women are told to marry younger and have more children. Blonde hair was the most feminine color and would give you a better shot at marriage, they were told.

The author offers examples as to the blame of society on this problem, especially the media. Attributing many of the negative trends to media powerhouses like:

• New York Times
• Women's magazines
• Life magazine

She writes about how women would not take certain cancer medications for fear of losing their blonde hair and therefore, their femininity. How some would have nervous breakdowns and how many silently wished for more from their lives.

The empathetic tone used when describing the women, along with the multiple examples given of the media involvement in these issues makes clear that the author identifies the women as victims, and that the problem lies in the current cultural and societal definition of what it is to be a woman, and what it is to be feminine.

For more on Betty Friedan and her work visit:

https://brainly.com/question/20472744?referrer=searchResults