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• Tuesday, December 6, 2005 07:52 AM

  Missing the point entirely

  I agree wholeheartedly with the criticism of "Total 180!" But if you're going to cite chapter and verse from "The Feminine Mystique," you might actually want to read the whole thing again. Betty Friedan never advocated the so-called feminist world we have today, where women can choose to have jobs, and maybe day care. She advocated women having a voice in the world around them.

  Feminism is not about having a career to brag about, or, on the other hand, kids to brag about, though the Total 180 types are certainly right about the kids having an edge on the bragging rights. When women "opt out" of both mystiques and simply create new businesses and ideas that serve people -- and, notably, serve women -- we will have the feminist world of Friedan's dreams.

  Friedan warned about the "privatism" that has intensified, not abated, since the early '60s. She envisioned a feminist world in which public riches were plentiful, not fought over and bid up by ever-more-competitive working women.

  If you're going to complain about women being "let out" by their husbands, give equal time to women being "let out" by their employers. Only when women work for themselves and create fully as entrepreneurs will we find equal partnerships in the world. Otherwise, we can look forward to another generation of bitchin' and moanin' over what our men and our employers won't give us.

  —Tashmoo711 Read Tashmoo711's other letters
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