Betty Friedan Quotes
If I were a man, I would strenuously object to the assumption that women have any moral or spiritual superiority as a class.
Friedan, Betty. The Second Stage. Summit Books, 1981.
While this quote is verified, there are internet quotes circulating with much more text added to the above quote but no credible sources have been offered.
Golden was one of the leading theater producers of the 1920s and 1930s. There is even a theater on Broadway named after him. This statement reflects a common attitude of the late 1930s of even many educated people. A few like Eleanor Roosevelt saw such a statement for what it was—ridiculous and responded publicly – {636785} . Note that for many years, this was a self-fulfilling statement. Producers like Golden thought women could not be great playwrights and therefore would never produce a play authored by a woman. Then others would use the fact that there were no even good plays that were written by female authors as evidence of the act that women could not be great playwrights.
Mrs. Thatcher was not a fan of feminists because so many of them were also liberal in their politics. However, she herself and her life example was one of the great feminist statements of the 20th century. She also held a disrespect for men that was typical of the most ardent feminists.
Betty Friedan was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. In 1966, Friedan co-founded and was elected the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), which aimed to bring women "into the mainstream of American society now [in] fully equal partnership with men".
