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  • The Second Stage

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Betty Friedan
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The Second Stage Paperback – Import, January 1, 1983

by Betty Friedan (Author)
First published in 1981, The Second Stage is eerily prescient and timely, a reminder that much of what is called new thinking in feminism has been eloquently observed and argued before. Warning the women's movement against dissolving into factionalism, male-bashing, and preoccupation with sexual and identity politics rather than bottom-line political and economic inequalities, Friedan argues that once past the initial phases of describing and working against political and economic injustices, the women's movement should focus on working with men to remake private and public arrangements that work against full lives with children for women and men both. Friedan's agenda to preserve families is far more radical than it appears, for she argues that a truly equitable preservation of marriage and family may require a reorganization of many aspects of conventional middle-class life, from the greater use of flex time and job-sharing, to company-sponsored daycare, to new home designs to permit communal housekeeping and cooking arrangements. Called "utopian" fifteen years ago, when it seemed unbelievable that women had enough power in the workplace to make effective demands, or that men would join them, some of these visions are slowly but steadily coming to pass even now. The problem Friedan identifies is as real now as it was years "how to live the equality we fought for," and continue to fight for, with "the family as new feminist frontier." She writes not only for women's liberation but for human liberation.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    ABACUS BOOKS
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 1983
  4. Dimensions
    7.56 x 5.12 x 0.87 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0349113327
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0349113326
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ABACUS BOOKS
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 1983
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ New Ed
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0349113327
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0349113326
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.56 x 5.12 x 0.87 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #2,982 in Feminist Theory (Books)
  • Customer Reviews:

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Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan

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Customer reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars
5 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • jonesy smith
    5 out of 5 stars
    Anybody Out There?
    Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2017
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    THE GRAND SILENCE........when does it end???.....I hope I see some signs of it before I leave this place.....the road I've travelled has been various, exciting, wondrous, difficult, happy, unhappy,....and enlightening...... but I hope that women will become bolder, wiser, stronger, and less afraid to speak up, woman up, and be more daring....the challenges are great......don't be an also-ran.....I've read Betty's first book that started us on the road to today and tomorrow, but haven't read this one yet.....I was so surprised to see 5 stars with no reviews..

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  • jjggjll
    1 out of 5 stars
    One Star
    Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2018
    Format: Hardcover
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    Not what I was expecting, very disappointing. She does not speak to ALL women.

    One person found this helpful
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  • azgardenlady
    1 out of 5 stars
    Total Waste of Time, Paper and Ink
    Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2018
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    Firstly, be advised that the "3"posted 5-star reviews are actually ONE review by the same person posted 3 times. Clearly Steven H Propp loved the book...but did he read it three times? Poor guy!

    I am only 1/3 way through the book for the first time. I am committed to reading the entire book, but I fear that it will only rehash the same points for another 225 pages. She made her arguments in the first 25 pages: motherhood is boring, irrelevant, and demeaning; men are powerful and important, forcing women to beg for money; and families (children) are an unfortunate imposition of biology foisted on women. Then...Friedan proceeds to grudgingly acknowledge that modern (1980) women want love, family and children. And mystery of mysteries, they are struggling to juggle all of this.

    From this point forward, she keeps rehashing this back-and-forth, "Oh, me/Oh, my" dialogue. Worse yet, she presents this as some new insight into the realities of creating families and raising children. Insight? My mother, in 1951, could have enlightened her and saved the world from Friedan and all her politics of bitterness.

    No, the world is not perfect. People - men and women - are not perfect. But perfection is never achieved by denying our biology, our families and our children.

    This book is like a term paper for women's studies copied enough times to reach the required 325 pages. She presented "the problem" in the first 25 pages and has yet to provide a solution - or even part of a solution - in the following 100 pages. I will make it to the end. If a solution is offered, I will edit. Meanwhile, spare yourself the pain of reading this. Life is too valuable.

    2 people found this helpful
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