Boy moms and Nazi POWs: how "The Feminine Mystique" changed feminism

Betty Friedan thought Korean POWs were dying in captivity because their mothers were housewives. She thought boy moms were making their sons gay. She wrote a whole chapter comparing suburban kitchens to concentration camps — in 1963, while America was still processing what concentration camps actually were. "The Feminine Mystique" is one of those important books that everyone "knows" but no one has actually read. For today's episode of The Argument podcast, Matthew Yglesias and ...

Betty Friedan thought Korean POWs were dying in captivity because their mothers were housewives. She thought boy moms were making their sons gay. She wrote a whole chapter comparing suburban kitchens to concentration camps — in 1963, while America was still processing what concentration camps actually were. 

"The Feminine Mystique" is one of those important books that everyone "knows" but no one has actually read. 

For today's episode of The Argument podcast, Matthew Yglesias and Jerusalem Demsas read and review the book that kicked off second-wave feminism. 

0:00-Introduction to The Feminine Mystique
9:02-Psychotherapy, Mad Men, and Marxist origins
20:02-The true drivers of social change
30:52-Famous books with massive effects
35:07-The most insane parts of The Feminine Mystique
47:33-The female happiness paradox
51:34-Rating the book’s success
56:54-Peer Review: Health benefits of WW2 sugar rationing?

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The Argument is produced by Justin Zuckerman, fact-checked by Eli Richman, with music by Breakmaster Cylinder and art by Ben Tousley.