Abstract
Modern feminism's leading thinkers believe their core project is to expose the ancient "myths" that guide our thinking about men, women, and families. In The Second Sex (1949) Simone de Beauvoir identified the "feminine myth" that women and men have different dispositions. Betty Friedan applied Beauvoir's insights to America in The Feminine Mystique (1963). Since then, Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth (1990) has contended that ideals of feminine beauty exist mostly to keep women in their place. The Frailty Myth (2000), by Colette Dowling, debunked the idea that women are weaker, slower, and less competitive than men, and Martha Fineman ripped the veil from The Autonomy Myth (2004). She called for abolishing marriage and replacing it with state support for dependents.
Original language | American English |
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Journal | Claremont Review of Books |
State | Published - 11 Jul 2016 |
EGS Disciplines
- Family, Life Course, and Society
- Gender and Sexuality