Are women better of today than they were fifty years ago Research Paper

Are women better of today than they were fifty years ago - Research Paper Example 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 â€Å"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 â€Å"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 narrat ed in Betty Friedan’s â€Å"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 tha t 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, â€Å"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