Betty Friedan Is A Hero Essay

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According to Dictionary.com, a hero is "(n), 1. A person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character, and/or 2. A person who, in the opinion of others has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal." Based off of this information, my hero is Betty Friedan because she was a major activist in the feminist world and played a leading role in helping us get to where we are today with women's rights. Many people mistake feminism as the belief that women are better than men. In fact, that is the complete opposite of the true definition. "What is it then?", you may ask. Feminism is the belief of political, social, sexual, and economic equality of the sexes. Betty Friedan was an amazing …show more content…

This is due to her enormous involvement in protests, activism, and fights for equality. For example, according to Thoughtco.com, they said "In 1970, Friedan led in organizing the Women's Strike for Equality on the 50th anniversary of winning the vote for women." The Women's Strike for Equality was a national embodiment of women's rights. The National Organization for Women (NOW) organized the strike and their president [at the time] was Betty Friedan. She commenced the protest by requesting that women around the nation to stop working for the day to draw attention to the ongoing problem: the gender wage gap. The gender wage gap is the obstacle in many women's lives that separates their pay by men's pay by 20 cent. However, that is only in the present. In the 1970s, women earned 59 cent to every dollar made by men. With Friedan's leadership skills and her liberal activism flowing through her veins, this proves her heroism by revealing that she was one of the ideal leaders for the feminist and women's right movement of her …show more content…

Friedan was against abortion laws on women because she thought that it was unfair for others to be in control of what happened to their own bodies. According to History.com, they stated, "Friedan also fought for abortion rights by establishing the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) in 1969." NARAL was one of the first pro-choice organizations, meaning it was the individual's choice on whether they wanted to have a child or not. Regarding this, she is a hero because she wanted to protect the rights of each and every woman by ensuring that their abortion matters would be up to them and not at the hands of the government. She wanted the women of America to have safe abortions and not have to result in dangerous back alley abortions. In the end, America still has many citizens pro-life movements. Some states have successfully abolished the strict laws of abortion but others still have a long way to go. It is a continuous fight in the U.S. but the activists are fighting as hard as they can for what they believe is

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