Comments on: No wonder Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique

By: Jo

Jo — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:47:52 +0000

Quaint hats and white gloves don’t begin to describe that sterile and suffocating time for women.
February 11, 2013 was 50 years to the day that Sylvia Plath one extraordinary poet committed suicide in London, 8 days before the Mystique was published. How many women did we lose to suicide including alcohol and dope of every kind in the 20th century and how many women we are losing today? Wonder where we are? Let’s check the statistics on obesity, diabetes, and heart attack, and then tune in to Hoda and Kathy Lee and weep.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 21:28:45 +0000

ellemarie–I agree. I was also a little concerned that their notion of generational difference seemed pretty compressed. I thought hearing from a woman in her 20s would have been refreshing.

Tina Brown has done a lot to highlight global feminist issues & transnational feminist activists at The Daily Beast, but I think you are right on when you question the portrayal of American feminism as 3 generations of white women.

By: ellemarie

ellemarie — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 21:20:42 +0000

Thanks Historiann for linking to the Daily Beast discussion. I enjoyed reading it, but as a woman of color, the first thing I noticed was that there were none offering commentary. I don’t think it’s intentional, but it seems The Daily Beast is reinforcing some of the blind spots that were part of feminism as a movement.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:42:43 +0000

FYI, there's an interesting intergenerational conversation about The Feminine Mystique at The Daily Beast featuring Jessica Bennett, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Alisa Solomon.

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:47:17 +0000

Then there was that notorious 1960s authoritarian culture figure, Dr. Seuss, who the NY Times informs us last week not only collected enough wild hats to outfit every cat in the country, but held dinner parties at which he apparently strong-armed his guests into wearing them. There is an exhibit of these chapeaux about to open at the New York Public Library.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:26:41 +0000

p.s. to Susan: I too kind of loved the bejeweled and feathered plunger hat! But it’s difficult to imagine that it would be practical if one had to do more during the day than model hats (i.e. walk down the street, get in and out of cars or public transport, work, etc.)

By: Historiann

Historiann — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:24:11 +0000

My impression was that hats and gloves went by the wayside sometime between the Summer of Love (1967) and the end of the tumultuous year of 1968. As smalltown prof suggests, the custom died various deaths depending on region, context, and the age of the ladies in question. This video of a 1967 Mary Quant collection shown in London shows only two models wearing hats, and none at all with gloves. (It's from the Pathe Fashion archive again.) But I would imagine that Swinging London led the way in chucking out the hats and gloves even earlier than 1967.

By: smalltownprof

smalltownprof — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:26:13 +0000

My mom said that in the mid-60s (up until about 1966 or 67) women NEVER went out without a hat and gloves. This was in the deep South yall. But still.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:40:27 +0000

Oh, my. Yes, it really does explain Friedan. The one thing I thought was really good in the NPR story yesterday was the focus on The Feminine Mystique as both very personal, and angry.

I like wearing hats, and still do sometimes. I think they went away around the time white gloves did. It was a whole different ethos about going outside. I vividly remember walking into one of the NYC 5th avenue department stores with my grandmother in 1968, and she was offended that a young woman had gone to the store wearing jeans. Her sense of those places was that you dressed to go to them – maybe not a hat by then, but certainly a dress and hose, heels, etc. She adjusted over time, but I’ve always thought of that as a window into a different culture.

Also, while I can’t imagine wearing the hats shown, I love thinking about moving shapes from one realm to another. I actually thought the plunger hat was quite attractive in an odd way.

By: Western Dave

Western Dave — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 03:17:23 +0000

On Kennedy and hats. Snopes says no. http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.asp

I can’t even figure out how I am going to use this in class. I just know that I am.