Question

In at least one hundred words, identify the purpose of Betty Friedan's "The Problem that Has No Name" and explain how the author's word choice in the text helps to accomplish that purpose

Answer 1

In "The Problem that Has No Name," Betty Friedan talks about a problem that she noticed among housewives in the 1950s and 1960s. Friedan argued that, since the end of World War II, the myth of the perfect housewife had been publicized in America as the ideal woman. Society believed that for women to be happy, they needed to be restricted to the domestic sphere and had no public life. However, in this text, Friedan questions such assumptions. She argues that this trend left housewives bored, unsatisfied and unhappy. This was the "problem." She implies that gender equality is better, in the long run, at helping women achieve more happiness and fulfillment. The author's word choice is particularly important in this text, as many of the ideas and sentiments that she expresses were new, and therefore, had not been named before. Therefore, by naming them, Friedan creates a more persuasive text that accomplishes her purpose.