By Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D.

Baylor Department of Journalism, PR & New Media

THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE AND SOCIETY: A LOOK AT NEW MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS

Friedan described “the problem that has no name” or the widespread unhappiness of women who worked in the home in the 1950s and early 1960s.

THE PROBLEM THAT HAS NO NAME

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons

Betty Friedan examined the role of various institutions in holding women back.

MEDIA MESSAGES

• Feminist Theory• Media Stereotypes• Pinterest • The Feminine Mystique

50 years later

A CLOSER LOOK

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

The media function ideologically:• to reflect• to reinforce • to mediate

existing power relations and ideas about how gender is and should be lived.

FEMINIST THEORY

STEREOTYPESStereotyping provides a way to acquire new knowledge.They are ‘mental cookie cutters.’

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

Media are a part of materially based social relations that create a solidarity among men of all races and classes “who are united in their shared relationship of dominance over their

women” (Hartmann, 1981, p. 14-15).

GENDER AND MEDIA

Women are either invisible or stereotyped.

GENDER AND MEDIA

COMMON STEREOTYPES OF WOMEN

Passive Submissive Dependent

Source: www.internetweekly.org

Source: www.flickr.com

Source: www.topnews.in

• The grandmotherly type is depicted as helpful, kindly, serene, severely impaired, vulnerable, shrewish, and needy.

• The elder statesman is depicted as intelligent, competitive, handsome, aggressive, and intolerant

Elderly Subtypes

Source: www.menshealth.co.uk

Source: hoardingdiary.blogspot.com

Racial Stereotypes

Martial artists, obedient, beautiful, sexy and cunning.

ASIAN WOMEN

Usually end up with a white or non-Asian mate

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons

Source: MSNBC.com

• Passionate• Argumentative• Illiterate • Domestic• Childlike

LATINAS

Sexy

This is a file from the Wikimedia CommonsSource: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Always Angry

BLACK WOMEN

Overly Independent Jezebels Welfare Recipients

This is a poster for Diary of a Tired Black Man.This is a poster for Waiting to Exhale.

Arab & Muslim Women

Belly dancers, harem girls

Cloaked and silent women

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons

White Women

Bimbo, Bombshell, Dumb Blonde

Blondes have more fun!

You not worth noticing unless you look like this!

Happy anorexic

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

Kate Moss in Calvin Klein underwear campaign ad from 1990s.

http://www.twiggylawson.co.uk/fashion.html

Media send viewers, readers and listeners hidden messages that suggest a story’s importance, and ultimately people’s importance

within society.

Why we care…

Fifty years later as feminism enters into the fourth wave, the time is ripe to study the book’s lasting impact on society.

THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE TODAY

A pool of 100 Pinterest pins found by searching the keywords "Betty Friedan and Feminine Mystique”

Pinterest allows members to “pin” products and other material they like or want to remember along with a description on personalized boards.

THE ARTIFACTS

Pins link to various products and services, and blog entries that discuss various topics

PINTEREST

New York Times columnist Gail Collins helped kick off the 50th anniversary of The Feminine Mystique with a spot titled, “Room for Debate.”

The panel discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the ageless book.

PINTEREST

An NPR piece titled, “At 50, Does 'Feminine Mystique’ Still Roar?” explores the book.

The author states that she was surprised by Friedan’s anger as she systematically laid out the case against a male-dominated society that was determined to keep women in their place.

The article concludes that The Feminine Mystique is still relevant today especially when it comes to our “understanding of women and domesticity.”

DOES IT STILL ROAR?

Leading supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment march in Washington on Sunday, July 9, 1978, urging Congress to extend the time for ratification of the ERA. From left: Gloria Steinem, Dick Gregory, Betty Friedan, Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, D-N.Y., Rep. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Rep. Margaret Heckler, R.

Mass. Dennis Cook/AP

 

A pin featuring an article by The Atlantic focuses on “4 Big Problems with The Feminine Mystique.”

Author Ashley Fetters highlights the views of black feminist theorists such as bell hooks, who assert that The Feminine Mystique ignored the black and lower-income women of the 20th century.

FOUR BIG PROBLEMS

policelink.monster.com skinlikehoney.blogspot.com

Many pins linked to products and services such as art, fashion, the actual book and T-shirts commemorating the Feminine Mystique.

Pinners include booksellers such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.

CONSUMERISM

Artist Samantha Hahn uses Pinterest to post pins of her exhibit titled, “Well-Read Women.”

Her collection of watercolor portraits includes paintings of Daisy Buchanan, Ophelia, and other female leaders.

ART

Study findings illustrate the significant impact the text has had on society. • Pins discuss and critique feminism, and commemorate the five

decades following the publishing of The Feminine Mystique. • Such activities keep alive valuable discussion on important

women’s issues.

CONCLUSIONS

Historical analyst Peter Dreier summarizes the book well in this statement:

“The Feminine Mystique catalyzed the modern feminist movement, helped forever change Americans’ attitudes about women’s role in society and catapulted its author into becoming an influential and controversial public figure.”

“It was not only a best-selling book, but also a manifesto for change. Most Americans now accept as normal the once-radical ideas that Friedan and others espoused.”

SUMMARY

QUESTIONS

 Atkins-Sayre, W. (2008). Reconceiving Motherhood: Second Wave Feminists Question the Maternal Role. Conference Papers -- National Communication Association, 1.Avidar, R. (2009). Avidar, Research in brief: Social media, societal culture and Israeli public relations practice, Public Relations Review 35 (2009), pp. 437–439.Betty Friedan Biography. Encyclopedia of World Biographies. Accessed from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Fi-Gi/Friedan-Betty.html Cady, K. A. (2009). Labor and Women's Liberation: Popular Readings of The Feminine Mystique. Women's Studies In Communication, 32(3), 348-379.Chang, A. (2012). Should You Care about Pinterest? Macworld, 29(6), 60–61.Coontz, S. (2011). A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s. Dreier, P. Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique": 50 Years Later Sunday, 17 February 2013 Worldwide Hippies, Farhi, P. (2010). Lost in the Woods. American Journalism Review , 32(1). United States.Four Big Problems With 'The Feminine Mystique' Ashley Fetters FEB 12 2013, 8:11 AM ET. Several "grains of salt" deserve consideration in any discussion of the 50-year-old book's legacy.Galbraith, D. (2012). The path to Pinterest: Visual bookmarks and grid sites. Gigaom. http://gigaom.com/2012/05/28/the-path-to-pinterest-visual-bookmarks-and-grid-sites/Kurs, K., & Cathcart, R. S. (1983). The Feminist Movement: Lesbian-Feminism as Confrontation. Women's Studies In Communication, 6(1), 12-23.Neary, L. (2013). “At 50, Does 'Feminine Mystique' Still Roar?” February 10, 2013 5:06 AMSiegel, D. (2011). A Strange Stirring: Test Your Feminine Mystique Cliche Quotient! Girl w/Pen. Accessed from http://thesocietypages.org/girlwpen/2011/02/01/a-strange-stirring-test-your-feminine-mystique-cliche-quotient/Turner, L. H. (2013). The Feminine Mystique and Me: 50 Years of Intersections. Women & Language, 36(1), 67-69.Walker, L. (n.d.). The Visual Bookmarks List. A Guide to the Web's Top Visual Bookmarking Sites. About.com. http://personalweb.about.com/od/contentsharing/a/Visual-Bookmarks-List.htm

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