edited by Hasia Diner, Shira Kohn and Rachel Kranson
contributions by Raymond A Mohl, Audrey Nasar, Barbara Sicherman, Nancy Sinkoff, Judith Smith, Deborah Waxman, Rebecca Wolf, Joyce Antler, Giovanna Del Negro, Daniel Horowitz, Rebecca Kobrin and Kathleen Laughlin
introduction by Rachel Kranson
Rutgers University Press, 2010
Cloth: 978-0-8135-4791-6 | eISBN: 978-0-8135-8031-9 | Paper: 978-0-8135-4792-3
Library of Congress Classification HQ1172.J49 2010
Dewey Decimal Classification 305.488924073

ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In The Feminine Mystique, Jewish-raised Betty Friedan struck out against a postwar American culture that pressured women to play the role of subservient housewives. 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.