Free Sample Essays > Sociology
What did the american dream mean to women libing in 1950s and 1960s america
of women being “inferior to men, dependant, passive, incapable of thought or decision” and plan a whole new life for themselves in which they had their own identity. Woman’s main aim, or dream, was to enjoy being a woman, and to achieve this she would have to stop conforming to the conventional picture of femininity and instead seek education. Education was the only thing which could save them from the feminine mystique, and through this learn to be able to live without the need for the regard of a boy or man to feel alive. Eventually she would realise that the pursuit of a career does not mean one is unfeminine and can not be a mother- both are possible. This was the key feature of the American Dream for women, having a sense of her self, and having the ability to make her own choices.
Bibliography
Friedan. Betty, The 'feminine mystique', London, 1963, Penguin Books Ltd.