I think Ms. Friedan deserves credit for thinking
outside the box, and for having the um, ovaries, to stand by her words in the
ensuing controversy. 45 years ago blacks were forced to sit in the backs
of buses, and women were subjugated and denied basic rights and
opportunities. Just as Rosa Parks had to stand up for herself to ignite the
controversy that led to the Civil Rights Act, someone had to take a stand for
women. Conversely, the feminists of
today are parrots mindlessly chanting mantras, and they have little or nothing
in common with the progenitors of their movement. I’ll be the first to agree
that in today’s society feminism, affirmative action, and the like are
anachronistic, burdensome and at times themselves a threat to the rights they
are claiming to preserve; Their vestigial presence about as useful as an
inflamed appendix, and I suspect that if NOW or NAACP didn’t exist their
members would quickly find another soapbox so they’d have something to bitch
about.

A
link on the same page has a story chock full o’ quotes that portray a
woman with a fairly reasonable agenda: Ms. Friedan was not supportive of
militant feminism or separatist agendas, and in her next book she gave credence
to family priorities and the value of domesticity. She was chastised by many
feminists for these admissions--Kudos to Ms. Friedan once again for having the
character to admit where she was wrong. It’s
a shame that her words have been buried in the misplaced sentiments of modern
feminism.