Thursday, January 31, 2008

A Biography of The Feminine Mystique!

My friend and personal hero Stephanie Coontz is working on a cool new project and I've offered to help her recruit. She's writing a study of the influence of Betty Friedan’s 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique. It's a biography, not of Betty Friedan, but of the book itself – its history and influence over the decades (or, perhaps, its lack of influence after a particular date). Stephanie is eager to hear from younger women, as well as people who read the book when it first came out, about how it impacted them--or in some cases, among those who read it later, disappointed them--then.

If you are willing to talk about this, or can direct Stephanie to someone else who might, you can send your memories directly, or Stephanie can send you a few survey questions. Please address correspondence to coontzs@msn.com.