Friedan and Social Liberalism

• Social liberalism emerged as a crucial component of modern liberalism in the second hand of the 20th century, giving strong support to campaign for greater racial and sexual equality
• This development in liberal thought emphasises not just formal equality, but also the need for active measures to address deep-rooted societal prejudices and structural inequalities
• Was did Friedan explain in ‘The Feminine Mystique’?

  Women were restrained not only by a lack of formal equality but also by pervasive societal attitudes that undermined their rationalism and autonomy
• Friedan highlighted how these prejudices were perpetuated through cultural norms and practices, effectively denying women the true freedom and potential for self realisation, that liberalism believed was innate to all humans
• Friedan called for state intervention to dismantle these barriers. She advocated for the enactment of laws to prohibit discrimination based on gender and supported measures such as affirmative action to ensure women had genuine equality of opportunity to succeed
• Friedan extended the discussion of rights and individualism to include the impact of societal factors on an individual‘s ability to exercise their freedoms fully
• True freedom and equality are achievable only in a society that actively works to eliminate both legal and societal forms of discrimination