Burkhalter 1

Cheyanne Burkhalter
Ms. Albrecht
Advanced Composition
10/27/14

Civil Disobedience for Women

Civil Disobedience has been around for years, but when one hears the words spoken, or
sees the words in a text book, most people think of people like Martin Luther King Jr. or
Mahatma Ghandi. Most people think of great men, which they were, leading the way for the
oppressed, but the struggle for women has never really been studied much in schools. Which is
obviously a bad thing considering a man who graduated with Cs in college can still make up to
twenty-three cents more than a female who graduated with As working at the same job. Thats
where Civil Disobedience plays a key role for women. This is helped women gain many of the
rights we have today through marches, sit-ins, and organizations created by those who came
before us.

A great leader in womens rights, was Betty Friedan, a midwesterner born in Peoria,
Illinois on February 4, 1921, and died of heart failure on February 4, 2006. (History.com) As a
child, she witnessed her mother and father fighting constantly about bills, her mothers gambling,
and many other things. When Friedan grew up to marry and have her own children, she soon
discovered why. Being married and staying at home with the children was something most
women wanted to achieve in the 1950s. It was the norm, and was widely accepted; this caused
women to be miserable, and even more miserable because they were guilty for feeling that way.

Burkhalter 2
It was a vicious cycle for Friedan, and now she could understand what her mother was going
through. She had to do something. (Taylor-Boyd 30)

This opportunity came to her when she decided to write an article talking about this issue,
but every magazine she went to turned her down because it would stir up women. . it was too
radical. . . , or that it was too negative. Eventually, a publisher did like her, but he knew the
magazine wouldnt want to feature the article, so he urged her to turn it into a book. This was the
birth of Feminine Mystique in the year 1963. (Taylor-Boyd 33) This was the very beginning of
Friedans work.
At first, the Feminine Mystique was a slow progress. She eventually got published, but
the publisher didnt think she would fare very well, and only printed a small amount of copies.
Determined to have women feel like they werent alone, Friedan stepped out of her timid shell,
and started speaking publicly to accomplish this goal, and promote her book. (Taylor-Boyd 34)

Fast forward to several years later, and Friedan had accomplished something she had
never dreamed of.
Famously in June 1966, at the third annual conference of commissions on the
status of
women in Washington DC, Friedan bumped into Dorothy Haener from the United
Automobile
Workers' Union and Pauli Murray, the black lawyer who had helped draft civil
rights
legislation. She invited them to meet in her hotel room: about 20 women crammed
in that night,

Burkhalter 3
mainly professionals, administrators and trade union officials. The next day at
lunch Friedan
scribbled "National Organization for Women" and the acronym NOW on a paper
napkin. The
new organization had a budget of $135. (Rowbotham)

This was a victory for Friedan, small, but a victory nonetheless. Despite their miniscule
budget, the NOW organization soon gained many supporters by organizing marches, and
protests. These gained national attention because NOW would call newspapers and news
channels in order to get the word out about the issues they were fighting for. For example, equal
pay, not pressuring women into becoming housewives, and overall just trying to gain respect for
women in general. In the 1960s a man could be paid 59 cents more than a woman when doing
the same exact job. Not only that, there were sex biased adds. For blue collar jobs, it would often
say, Men wanted only. As a way to protest this, the women of the NOW organization would
wear pins on their clothing that simply said 59 on them. (Horner 63)

In 1967, the battle to legalize abortion began. Friedan was a big pro-choice advocate like
most women during this time. Rallies, protests, and marches were held to kickstart this
campaign. Two men, Lawrence Lader, and Dr. Bernard Nathanson needed support, but who
could they ask? Their answer was Betty Friedan and her feminist warriors. Betty Friedan
became vice-president of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), which placed
her in the driving seat for abortion law reform. They played a huge part in gaining supporters by
rallying, protesting, and marching. Eventually, abortion was legalized with their help. (Betty
Friedan and the Abortion Movement.)

Burkhalter 4

From educated young woman, to housewife, to mother, and then finally to feminist
leader, Betty Friedan truly was an amazing woman. An idea turned into a civil disobedience
movement, and a movement changed the world. Betty Friedans and NOWs actions changed the
future for women for generations to come.

Burkhalter 5
Works Cited
Horner, Matina S. Justine Blau American Women of Achievement: Betty Friedan
Feminist.
New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1990. Print.
Taylor-Boyd, Susan. People Who HAve Helped the World: Betty Friedan Voice for
Womens Rights, Advocate for Human Rights. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens
Childrens Books, 1990. Print.
History.com Staff. "Betty Friedan." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web.
27
Oct. 2014.
Rowbotham, Sheila. "Betty Friedan: Feminist Icon of the 1960s, Renowned for Her
Bestseller,
The Feminine Mystique." AAS Committee on the Status of Women, n.d. Web. 28
Oct. 2014.
N.A. "Betty Friedan and the Abortion Movement." Home. The Life Resources Charitable
Trust, 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.