Betty Friedan was a prominent American feminist, activist, and writer, most famous for her seminal book "The Feminine Mystique," which is often credited with sparking the second wave of American [[feminism]] in the 20th century. Betty Friedan was born Bettye Naomi Goldstein on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois. She was an academically gifted student, and after high school, she attended Smith College, a women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts, where she edited the college newspaper and graduated summa cum laude in 1942. After college, Friedan attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied psychology on a fellowship. Despite the offer to continue her studies with another fellowship, she decided to leave academia and moved to New York City to work as a journalist. ## Women's struggle to juggle career and family Friedan worked at various publications throughout the 1940s and 1950s, during which time she married and started a family. The difficulties she and other women faced juggling family life and careers led her to begin researching the dissatisfaction of middle-class women in America. This research eventually culminated in the publication of "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963. The book challenged the widely accepted idea at the time that women could find fulfillment only through being wives and mothers. Instead, it highlighted the unspoken dissatisfaction many women felt in these roles, becoming a rallying cry for the nascent feminist movement. ## National Organization of Women (NOW) Following the success of her book, Friedan became a leading figure in the women's movement. In 1966, she co-founded and became the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), which aimed to bring women "into the mainstream of American society in fully equal partnership with men." Under her leadership, NOW campaigned for the enforcement of Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act]] and the legalization of abortion, among other issues. In 1969, Friedan organized the Women's Strike for Equality on the 50th anniversary of women's [[suffrage]], which became one of the largest feminist protests of the 20th century. In the 1970s, she was also involved in the campaign for the [[Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)]]. Despite facing criticism for focusing on middle-class women and overlooking the intersectional experiences of women of color and LGBTQ+ women, Friedan's work was instrumental in making women's rights a significant issue in American society. Friedan continued to write and advocate for women's rights throughout her life. She passed away on her birthday, February 4, 2006. See also: [[civil rights]], [[disenfranchisement]], [[Gloria Steinem]]