FEMININE MYSTIQUE

• The term described the societal assumption that women found fulfilment through their gendered roles alone
• Drawing attention to women’s magazines and educational institutions that romanticised the homemaker-mother images of a woman, Friedan’s book discussed the dissatisfaction and discontent among women, in trying to fit into the media’s portrayal of a “perfect woman”
• The concept restricted women to the role of a happy housewife even when they could be freed from domestic work to pursue their dreams with the help of modern appliances and technology that reduced domestic labour an option the women from their previous generations did not have.

• After World War II, the men returned from the war. Women who up until then had filled the men’s shoes, working outside and earning a living while the men were away, were now expected to go back to their feminine roles as obedient wives and homemakers.
• From there sprung the artificial concept of the feminine mystique. Men who returned expected women to be at their beck and expected complete devotion and nurturing from them
• Women, especially white women from the middle class were weaponised in this battle in representing a superior American society which idealised femininity and family life
• As explained by Friedan in the chapter ‘The Happy Housewife Heroine’, according to the mystique, the West has undervalued the virtues of femininity
• The concept romanticises the notion of femininity and urges women to accept their feminine nature that could be fulfiled only through sexual passivity, male domination, and nurturing maternal love. It criticises women’s attempts to be ‘masculine’  to earn, or fulfil goals that were not feminine instead of accepting the virtuous mystique-approved roles
• Interestingly, the mystique was portrayed, through media and magazines, to be a new phenomenon that idealised the notion of a perfect housewife who was satisfied with domestic life
• Yet, this concept was as old as time, since the aim was to restrict women to their gendered roles, limiting their dreams to the kitchen floor and home nurseries

• Friedan looks at the idealised version of women presented in women’s magazines that confined women to roles that the mystique found appropriate for them
• Even when it was revealed that women felt unfulfiled in their gendered roles, it was attributed to education or lack of sexual fulfilment
•  Freudian theories also blamed women for their incompetence in not living up to idealised standards of the feminine and cited it as the reason behind their dissatisfaction
• Statistics revealed that by the end of the 1950s, more women were getting married at a younger age, bringing down the average age to 20
• More women had dropped out of college and it was shown that they desired to fit into the standards of the mystique.
• There was growing dissatisfaction among middle-class women as many could not find contentment in just serving the needs of their husbands and families
• This dissatisfaction with being unable to live up to the ‘mystique’ pushed women into addiction, depression and a sense of emptiness

• Though the concept influenced many feminist movements, it was not without flaws. It came under heavy criticism for the false vantage point the author claimed (that of a suburban housewife and mother while she was a radical leftist) and for being a concept that catered to a select group of women
• The concept failed to address the problems faced by women of colour and working-class women who had to join the labour force out of financial need and did not have the option of remaining housewives
• These women, from the lower-working classes, would have to abandon their children and dreams to ensure that the white suburban woman could fulfil hers. While Friedan’s solution to these problems was for women to balance a career and a household, this ultimately added more pressure on women to create a perfect balance between work and family