It is better for a woman to compete impersonally in society, as men do, than to compete for dominance in her own home with her husband, compete with her neighbors for empty status, and so smother her son that he cannot compete at all.
Meaning of the quote
It's better for a woman to focus on being successful in the world outside her home, just like men do, instead of trying to be the boss at home, trying to be better than her neighbors, or being so overbearing with her son that he can't even try to achieve anything.
About Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was a pioneering American feminist writer and activist who played a crucial role in sparking the second wave of feminism in the 20th century. She co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and organized the successful nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality in 1970, further propelling the feminist movement.
More quotes from Betty Friedan
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I was at a meeting two years ago in Beijing, and I passed a bunch of women who were marching in a protest. Their signs were probably saying something I wouldn’t have agreed with at all. But I was so glad to see women marching. And it’s happening all over the world.
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It is better for a woman to compete impersonally in society, as men do, than to compete for dominance in her own home with her husband, compete with her neighbors for empty status, and so smother her son that he cannot compete at all.
American feminist writer and activist (1921-2006)
We need to see men and women as equal partners, but it’s hard to think of movies that do that. When I talk to people, they think of movies of forty-five years ago! Hepburn and Tracy!
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The feminine mystique has succeeded in burying millions of American women alive.
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