Are Women Better Today than Fifty Years Ago - Research Paper Example

?Are Women Better Off Today Than They Were Fifty Years Ago? INTRODUCTION The life of women have undergone many revolutionary changed since the past decades. Women in the past decades were more family oriented; they did not focus on pursuing a profession apart from playing the role of a home-maker. Feminists often have argued that five decades earlier, women suffered from a degree of identity crisis, lack of self-respect and male domination since their very young age. Women got married at an early age and were brought-up in a manner that made them entirely family oriented; in other words, their intention of having a competitive career in the outer world was constricted during their up-bringing from their very young age. A brief account of how women were treated and hat their position was five decades ago from now, can be obtained with reference to Betty Friedan’s writing in the book titled “The Feminine Mystique”. Critics have been arguing regarding the contribution of the book in Women’s liberation movements back in the 1960s. Undoubtedly, the book had been a benchmark in feminist literary developments to make the society realize what the actual problem was in positioning women as a strictly homely character. THESIS STATEMENT This thesis aims to elaborate on the position of women fifty years ago in comparison to that their social position now. Betty Friedan’s arguments and discussions in her “The Feminine Mystic” have thus been referred in this context. Providing a rational account, this thesis aims at obtaining an insight as to whether women were better five decades ago or they are now. DISCUSSION Life Of The Women In The Past Decades – As narrated in Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystic”, the life of the women in the 20th century revolved round their family. Their ambitions and desires were not treated with importance in the society. In a poignant manner, the book verses about the weak self-consciousness and the dominated position of women in the later period of World War II until the 1960s. Women were, back then, portrayed as a character who either willfully or through social pressures were obligated to sacrifice and abandon their career for the sake of their family. The book by Friedan was extensively credited fifty years ago for kindling the women movement of the 1960’s in order to obtain a better accomplished life. The women of the 20th century were not given equal status in the society; they were lacking self-motivation and the support from their family for a better life outside their personal boundaries, such as in politics. The traditional believe that women cannot pursue any career and that they are better off as wife and mother, restricted them from taking initiatives to be independent before five decades. During that period, women also lacked attitude that they can be a decision maker and that they can lead an independent life. They had a dependent mentality and hence lacked the feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment (Coontz, “Why Gender Equality Stalled”). As argued by Friedan in her book, the real problem for women being dominated fifty years ago was their weak self-consciousness; in other words, the problem was more within the then women than it was within the orthodox social structure. Addressing the inherent feminist issue in the 1960s’s society, the book by Friedan undoubtedly works out a juncture for the development of women; their personification and the way they used to be pictured. Subsequently, it contributed to the Women’s liberation movement in the 1960s, rewarding a breakthrough in the approach and attitude of women. When going through the book now, one can easily codify the antiquated societal structure 50 years ago, which many will argue to have changed extensively in today’s world, while others may not. As was obvious in the later period of the 20th century, a certain change in the attitude and behavior of women was observed along with their attempt to augment their self-esteem in comparison to the male members of the society. Indeed, the same was narrated in Friedan’s writing in “The Feminine Mystic” (Schuessler, “Criticisms of a Classic Abound”). Friedan’s book was capable of igniting a revolution, stressing on the fact that women should have a purpose in life and career options similar to those enjoyed by men, which will give them an independent identity and help them to boost their self-esteem. During the then scenario, women were knowledgeable but lacked very many opportunities to prove their worth in the society, impartial to that privileged to men (Schuessler, “Criticisms of a Classic Abound”). As an activist, Friedan, through her writing in the book, insinuated facts that contributed to the orthodoxical structure of the society, such as the male centric education system, high degree of gender biases persisting in the corporate world and the skepticism that women’s moving into the outer world will hinder the strength of the society rather than fortifying it, which altogether played a major role in thwarting women’s confidence level to bring revolutionary changes. Apparently, illustrating the problems women were facing, majorly owing to the prominent and prodigious distinction between the two genders, Friedman encouraged women to take up professions that were suitable and would help them to shape and create a positive impact in their life. Hence, the book by Freidan acted as a motivation to the feminist movement, fostering a sense of independence in the women. Even women who were not willing to pursue jobs were using their creativity to keep them engaged in their life, commonly through literature writings (Berry, “Dave Barry: Beauty and the Beast”). Life of the Women Today – Today, after 50 years than what was portrayed in the book “The Feminine Mystic” by Friedan, the life of women can be observed to have improved to a great extent. The women are now self-motivated and have high ambitions in life. Women today are free from the orthodox thought process that they are born only to get married and lead a family oriented life, but pursue ambitions to become a self-independent person. It can be said that the society today has been able to curtail the distinctions between a male and a female to a large extent. Nonetheless, a critical evaluation of the current social scenario and the positioning of women as a human being above all may reveal a somewhat contradicting picture to the notion. As discussed by Maslin, today career options for women are much wider, but their social position remains the same even after five decades (Maslin, “Looking Back at a Domestic Cri de Coeur”). The life and the mentality of people in the society have improved to a great extent; they no more treat or consider women to be a doll, but they are still criticized, alienated, often humiliated and served with obstructed growth options in comparison to their male colleagues within their working field. Feminists today often thus argue that equality and extend support to the women in the current society, although has improved to a substantial extent, still lacks ultimate effectiveness. However, when it comes to the contribution made by Friedan through her book, in the liberation movement of the 1960s, the social life, strata of women and their importance in the society as an individual can be observed to have improved optimistically. They have a high self-esteem today than what was perceived fifty years ago. The culture and the tradition in the modern world have also improved to a great extent in these few decades, where people are no more into early marriage or possess a conservative mind set. Conceptually, women today are far better off than men in the workplace and family. Very certainly, the revolution that the book was capable of igniting had been a serious concern for the male driven society of the 1960s. It was fundamentally owing to this reason that Betty Friedan also had to suffer lot many hardships in making her voice poignant and raising confidence among the women in the then society (Maslin, “Looking Back at a Domestic Cri de Coeur”). CONCLUSION Being an individual in the 21st century, when technology, social and educational support for women are much judicious, the societal picture replicated in “The Feminine Mystic” can be observed as an antiquated one. Unlike fifty years ago, the life of women today are more career oriented, they have a positive approach towards their life, they are independent in their thought and have their own identity even after marriage. Based on these notions it can be asserted that the life today is much better in terms of independence, quality and career growth prospects for women. However, their role as a mother or as a wife has remained unchanged, where women are often found to choose their family over their career. This may be considered as a liberal selection by the modern women, but inherent social features to the issue may reveal otherwise, where male dominance still persists being supported by various social stressors to bind women within a defined socio-economic periphery. Nonetheless, contribution of the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s had its apparent contribution to the changes witnessed in the current society and the way women are treated today. It not only highlighted the true problem persisting within the society fifty years ago, but also aided the women of the then society with a voice to fight for their liberty in every field, abolishing the juncture of gender discrimination. In such circumstances, the book by Betty Friedan titled “The Feminine Mystic”, generated apparent cognizance for the need of change in the way women were being personified back then. Works Cited Coontz, Stephanie. Why Gender Equality Stalled. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. . Berry, Dave. Dave Barry: Beauty and the Beast. 2004. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. . Maslin, Janet. Looking Back at a Domestic Cri de Coeur. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. . Schuessler, Jennifer. Criticisms of a Classic Abound. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. . Read More