NOW's Founder is gone

Betty Friedan died yesterday, on her birthday. A smart and strong-willed woman.

When she wrote her book I was still in grade school, but her impact peaked in the 70's when I was in college and NOW was on the march.

I didn't know she was from Peoria, or that she was a Marxist back in the 40's (yes, there really were Marxists in this country). The Tribune:

Having discovered Marxism in college, Friedan decided that she would work for the "revolution." By 1943, she was immersed in popular-front journalism, first at The Federated Press in New York and later at UE News, the official newspaper of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, then one of the nation's most radical unions.

And at the time neither did most people:

The personal narrative that gave "The Feminine Mystique" much of its power was misleading in another way: It omitted references to Friedan's earlier career as a left-wing journalist, creating the impression that the author had never been anything other than a suburban matron.

And though I am pro-life, and believe the feminist movement damaged families and led to the cheapening of love and life, she had a major role in opening up opportunities for women to choose what to do with their lives, be it pursuing a career or making a home, or some blend.

And to her credit, Betty Friedan tried to keep the feminist movement from running off the rails into their current obscurity:

"Don't get into the bra-burning, anti-man, politics-of-orgasm school," by way of telling a 1970 college audience that the women's movement needed to keep a toe in the American mainstream.

I remember her saying that at the time, and I remember her with some fondness.

Rest in peace, Betty Friedan