Betty Friedan, one of the first modern feminists and co-founder of the National Organization of Women (NOW), died on Saturday at the age of 85. In the early 1960’s Friedan became convinced that women who stayed at home and raised their own children were unfulfilled, so she wrote the revolutionary tract, “The Feminine Mystique.”
Nearly 30 years later, Friedan’s creed reached the highest halls of power, when candidate Bill Clinton’s wife sarcastically told an audience that “I suppose I could have stayed home, baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession.”
On Sunday, Hillary released a statement on Friedan’s death, saying that her activism and writing “opened doors and minds, breaking down barriers for women and enlarging opportunities for women and men for generations to come. We are all the beneficiaries of her vision.”
