What kind of feminist is Betty Friedan? What did Betty Friedan struggle with?

Betty Friedan was born on February 4, 1921, and lived until February 4, 2006.

Betty Friedan was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women’s movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century.

In 1966, Friedan co-founded and was elected the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), which aimed to bring women “into the mainstream of American society now in fully equal partnership with men”.

In 1970, after stepping down as NOW’s first president, Friedan organized the nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality on August 26, the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote.

The national strike was successful beyond expectations in broadening the feminist movement; the march led by Friedan in New York City alone attracted over 50,000 people.

Regarded as an influential author and intellectual in the United States, Friedan remained active in politics and advocacy until the late 1990s, authoring six books.

Friedan died of congestive heart failure at her home in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 2006, her 85th birthday.

What kind of feminist is Betty Friedan?

Friedan thus found herself at the forefront of the second wave of American feminism. She championed several related causes for women: equal pay for equal work, an end to sexual harassment in the workplace, and the legalization of abortion.

What did Betty Friedan struggle with?

The oldest of three children, Friedan was born Bettye Naomi Goldman on 4 February 1921 in Peoria, Illinois, to journalist Miriam Horowitz and jeweler Harry Goldstein. Raised in a Jewish household, Friedan experienced anti-Semitism in her community and she struggled with bouts of asthma.