In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan argued that
women had a right to the same range of opportunities as men.
home and children should be women’s primary concerns.
it was necessary for women to pursue professional careers.
women should abandon the institutions of marriage and motherhood.
beauty and mystery were women’s best means of empowerment.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is:
women had a right to the same range of opportunities as men.
Explanation:
In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan critiques the cultural norms and expectations that confined women to roles as wives and mothers in mid-20th-century American society. She specifically argues that women were often encouraged to find fulfillment solely through domesticity, rather than through intellectual, personal, or professional growth. This concept was what Friedan referred to as “the feminine mystique,” a set of cultural myths that idealized women’s roles in the home while limiting their opportunities outside of it.
Friedan does not assert that women should abandon marriage and motherhood, but rather, she advocates for women’s right to choose the kinds of lives they want to lead, which includes having access to the same opportunities as men in education, careers, and personal development. She challenges the societal pressures that discouraged women from pursuing professional careers or personal ambitions beyond the home. Her argument was not that all women should pursue professional careers, but that women should have the freedom to choose, just like men.
At the heart of Friedan’s work is the notion that women should not be limited by outdated gender norms and should be able to explore and develop their potential in various spheres of life. This emphasis on equal opportunity was groundbreaking at the time and became a foundational argument for the second-wave feminist movement. By addressing the psychological, social, and cultural forces that kept women in the private sphere, Friedan called for a society that recognized the value of women’s contributions outside the home, promoting gender equality in all areas of life.