Is This All?

Photograph by William Klein, Model Jean Shrimpton, Fashion: Dior, May 1963 Vogue


In 1963, Betty Friedan wrote "The Feminine Mystique", inspiring women to reject stereotypical roles and seek creative and rewarding work outside the home. Recently I've been immersed in feminist literature in the hope that I can give depth and meaning to a piece of artwork that I've been invited to create.

There was one passage in "The Feminine Mystique" that incited a torrent of emotions in me:

"The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night -- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question -- "Is this all?"

How does this make you feel?
Is it still a relevant question today?

Please share your thoughts and feelings.