Republicans and Evangelicals I Women's Roundtable Book Discussion

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Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique kicked off second-wave feminism in the United States. The book was published in 1963 and addressed what she called "the problem that has no name". As women's roles shifted with the invention of electricity and the number of workers needed to run farms decreased, women's roles shifted. The idea of a "traditional" woman went from a farm laborer or factory worker to someone who kept the home and managed her children's schedules. This left many women feeling unsatisfied and searching for their purpose in life. Friedan's book addressed those issues and inspired more extreme views of women.

Several "Christian" books were published to respond to Friedan and second-wave feminism. One was The Total Woman, the number one bestselling nonfiction book of the year which has sold over 10 million copies. Published in 1973, it was the genesis of the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes where Kathy Bates goes to the door to meet her husband wrapped in Saran Wrap. It encouraged women to use costumes to greet their husbands, to avoid being "shrewish", and to use Norman Vincent Peele's philosophy of positive thinking.

Another book was The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye. This was a companion piece to a book written by her husband Tim LaHaye, but it somehow managed to avoid telling women how to live by the Spirit.

Special guests join Chris for this episode. Each took a different book so we can better understand this movement and counter-movement.

Special Guests:

• Amy Fritz of the Untangled Faith podcast
• Anna Tran of the Love Thy Neighborhood podcast
• Jen Pollock Michel author of In Good Time, A Habit Called Faith, and Surprised by Paradox

Sources:

• The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
• The Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye
• The Total Woman by Marabel Morgan

Discussion Questions:

• What is your relationship to the books we discussed in these episodes?
• What is the difference between first-wave feminism and second-wave feminism?
• How have the roles of women changed in society in the last 200 years? What role did electricity, the Industrial Revolution and wars shaped those roles?
• What was the "problem that has no name"? How did/does it impact women's lives?
• How does this vision of feminism compare and contrast to biblical images of women?
• How have we added or subtracted from what the Bible says about women to create our modern image of a "Christian woman"?
• Morgan advised her readers to meet their husbands at the door in costumes. What is your opinion of this idea?
• What did she mean when she said she had been "shrewish"? Is that term insulting to women? Why?
• Is the "Christian ideal" vision of women one that requires women to stay home with children?

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