Discussion Questions
November 4, 2015
- How do the view of Farnham and of Stevenson on one hand and
those of Friedan on the other represent the views of the 1950s and the 1960s
respectively? How does each see the nature of women's lives during
those periods? What is the responsibility of women for the situations
described, and what is the responsibility of society as a whole, for those
situations, according to the various authors?
- Farnham and Lundberg, as well as Friedan, are describing
what is referred to as "the feminine mystique". What is
meant by the use of that term? Is the feminine mystique of Farnham and
Lundberg the same as that of Friedan?
- Why would a message such as that of Friedan have such a
tremendous impact on the sixties? In what manner does Friedan's book
define the new directions of the sixties beyond simply " the problem
with no name"? What are the wider implications of Friedan's
writing for the decade?
- Is there a discernible shift from Friedan to Steinem and
the other liberationists at the beginning of the seventies? How do you
think America (ie by class, gender, etc.) would react to the message and the
language of the women's liberation movement? Who is targeted by the
rhetoric - men or women?