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In my senior philosophy class, I read a book called the Feminine Mystique by Betty Freidan. This book, written in the late 50’s, identified the “mysterious problem” that was infecting many women. The problem was that the women were becoming bored and they wanted to be able to work. As a result of this book, many middle class white women felt that their “problems” had finally been brought into the open. Many women’s activist groups were launched. However, the book also created many controversial opinions. One prominent critic was Belle Hooks. She criticized Freidan’s belief that her problem spoke for every woman’s problem. She felt that Freidan did not take in the views of the lower-class woman’s struggles. She said that some women always had been in the working class, and maybe some who were forced to work would rather sit at home and watch their kids grow up. What Hooks failed to acknowledge was that the book needed to be written to address female inequalities in society. The reaction from the Feminine Mystique closely paralleled some people’s reactions to the book Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. Many felt that Ehrenreich was judgmental and should not have written the book. They felt that the auth