The Importance Of Work Analysis

The Structure Behind "The Importance of Work"

One would have to be a fool to believe that men and women have always been or even are equal. Only in the past century have women been allowed to vote and 50 years since women of color could vote. Even today, women and men are held to different standards. Betty Friedan (1921-2006) was a feminist that was not only an author, but also, the first president of an organization known as the National Organization for Women. She is well-known for her work "The Feminine Manifesto", and she is the author of the article "The Importance of Work". Betty Friedan was a feminist during the height of the women's rights movement, so it is not surprising in the least that her article hit on women's rights. "The Importance

Friedan points out that, "They [men] have an unprecedented freedom to choose the kind of work they will do; they also have an unprecedented amount of time apart from the hours and days that must actually be spent in making a living. And suddenly one realizes the significance of today's identity crisis." (790). Friedan also explains the difference in the times of the pioneer days, when women were more respected and did more, to her present time. When women were no longer needed to be doing hard work and were simply tasked with staying in their homes to raise their children. "These women were respected and self-respecting members of society whose pioneering purpose centered in the home. Strength and independence, responsibility and self-confidence, self-discipline and courage, freedom and equality were part of the American character for both men and women, in all the first generations."(791). The way Friedan conveys the past standards helped her pave the way to her main argument of women having identity crisis's. Because the order of the text was old standards of the American woman, it made sense when Friedan started explaining how things were for her in that time. After explaining the societal standards, Friedan went on to explain why women deserve to do more than only becoming a

She realized that she couldn't just say, "The identity crisis of American women began a century ago,"(791) without explaining why or how. Friedan goes on to say that when the freedom and work they, women, were allowed was being taken away from women is when this crisis started. This crisis being the feeling of helplessness and of being excluded from everyday life. As well as, them just not knowing what they're doing with their lives. Working has truly helped in this regard by helping one find themselves. Betty Friedan explains, "Work, the shopworn staple of the economists, has become the new frontier of psychology. Psychiatrists have long used "occupational therapy" with patients in mental hospitals; they have recently discovered that to be of real psychological value, it must be not just "therapy", but real work," (791) Friedan effectively expressed her ideas by giving explanation to go along with her statements though she also hit her readers with some of the emotions women of the time