Betty Friedan is dead. The woman many consider the founder of modern feminism, she authored the book, "The Feminine Mystique", which started out at a modest run of 3000 copies, then suddenly mushroomed into an all time best seller-and started a movement. Back in those days, of course, it was all about womens rights to equal pay for equal jobs, and for that matter, for the right of women to get jobs, to get out of the house and out of their husbands shadows and find self-fulfillment. It wasn't all just about the symbolic act of burning bras. It was about the idea that man women still considered themselves to be viewed as second class citizens, and that they had the right to reclaim their destiny. Betty Friedan spearheaded that movement, and, to her further credit, later cautioned the feminine movement against taking on more radical elements in their philosophy, and so alienating themselves from the mainstream of American society.
And so, in honor of Betty, I will now put on my hat-and not tip it.
