by Sandra Dapper

Created on: June 11, 2007   Last Updated: November 18, 2007

Betty Friedan is one of the most famous and infamous feminists to have ever existed. She is known mostly for starting the "Second Wave" feminist movement which occurred in the 1960s, and for her bestseller book, The Feminine Mystique. Betty's tireless efforts on the feminist front were often challenged by her foul temperament, but this never overshadowed her respectability as an activist. One thing is for sure: she was truly passionate about her work.

Betty grew up in Peoria, Illinois, which she referred to as "the middle of middle America." Her father owned a high-end jewelry store and her mother served as both a housewife and the editor to the women's page of the Peoria newspaper. They were a comfortable, Jewish, middle class family. Although Betty never experienced or witnessed sexual discrimination in her childhood, she was aware of her mother's limited opportunities. Then, when her father was unable to work with heart trouble, Betty's mother took over the family business. Betty watched her mother become a better person while working outside the home, and this can bet attributed to some of Betty's first feelings about gender roles and feminism.

Betty became more aware of the many forms of discrimination after reading the book Middletown by Robert and Helen Lynd. She soon began to see prejudice in her town directed at women, Jews, and lower economic classes. Upon entering high school, Betty was turned down by fraternities and sororities because she was Jewish. She then began to write for her high school newspaper and even started her own literary magazine. Her writing continued into Smith College, where she pursued a degree in psychology. After graduating she worked for a year at Berkeley and was offered a fellowship to get her Ph.D. She turned down the offer to work in journalism. Betty felt that women graduates were not encouraged to use their degrees after college; they were expected to marry, have children, and assume the role of a housewife.

In 1947, Betty married theater producer Carl Friedman. They had three children together, named Emily, Daniel, and Jonathan. Betty and Carl's divorce in 1969 spurred rumors that Carl had been physically abusive. At first Betty supported these rumors; later, however, she claimed that Carl had never beat her.

In 1952, Betty was fired from her job at the Trade Union Service where she edited union newspapers. Her pregnancy at the time caused her to believe that she was "fired for being pregnant," or because her company knew

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