Jewish Feminine Mystique? : Magers & Quinn Booksellers, Discount New and Used Books

Publisher's Comments
"This volume of collected essays deeply enriches our understanding of the varied experiences of Jewish women in the 1950's...reading it will forever transform the way the reader thinks about Jewish women, female power, and the pervasive influence of gender."-Schuly Schwartz, Jewish Theological Seminary

In The Feminine Mystique, Jewish-raised Betty Friedan struck out against a post-war American culture that pressured women to play the role of subservient house-wives. However, Friedan never acknowledged that many American women refused to retreat from public life during these years. Now, A Jewish Feminine Mystique? Examines how Jewish women sought opportunities and created images that defied the stereotypes and prescriptive ideology of the "feminine mystique."

As workers with or without pay, social justice activists, community builders, entertainers, and businesswomen, most Jewish women championed responsibilities outside their homes. Jewishness played a role in shaping their choices, shattering Friedan's assumptions about how middle-class women lived in the postwar years. Focusing on ordinary Jewish women as well as prominent figures such as Judy Holliday, Jennie Grossinger, and Herman Wouk's fictional Marjorie Morningstar, leading scholars explore the wide canvas upon which American Jewish women made their mark after the Second World War.

Hasia R. Diner is the Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History and director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University. She is the author of numerous volumes.

Shira Kohn and Rachel Kranson are doctoral candidates in New York University's joint Ph.D. program in history and Hebrew and Judaic studies