Tools of the Trade: Working Women in Texts from the Sexual Revolution

“Despite the trend toward stay-at-home mothering in the post-WWII decades, few popular women’s narratives…focus on the domesticated woman, with the notable exceptions of Grace Metalious’s scandalous bestseller Peyton Place (1956), Sue Kaufman’s acerbic social commentary Diary of a Mad Housewife (1967), and Betty Friedan’s liberal-feminist manifesto The Feminine Mystique (1963). Herein, Friedan deplored the suburban entrapment of middle-class women and argued vigorously throughout her own career for women’s improved access to the paid professional sector. Due to the influence of this text and related outcries from the nascent feminist second wave, stories about women’s search for meaningful careers in conflict with traditional desires for spouse and children left their mark on this era.”