This week in history: Feminist leader visits campus
December 6, 2022
Nataly Aguiar curated this article by Nita Hilliard, which The Appalachian published Dec. 11, 1970.
“Men are the fellow victims, not the enemy,” stated Betty Friedan, national feminist leader and author of FEMININE MYSTIQUE in her December 8 appearance at ASU. The 49 year old divorcee emphasized the need for total restructuring of society.
Addressing an overflowing crowd in Appalachian State University’s I. G. Greer Auditorium, Mrs. Friedan termed the feminist movement as “the most basic, and in some senses, the most radical movement of the 60’s”
“We hope for the first time in history to achieve full equality for ourselves – not only for women, but for men and children.”
“And unless we get on with it,” she warned, “the hostility between the sexes that now rages in America could reach the proportions of an Armaggedon that would make the race riots of Watts and Detroit seem like child’s play.”
Mrs. Friedan advocates eliminating the traditional feminine and masculine mystiques.
According to the feminist leader, women have long been characterized as “moronic housewives,” or as “Playboy bunnies.” She pointed out that women comprise 53 per cent of the population but generally earn about half of what men do.
