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"The feminist writer and activist Betty Friedan (1921-2006), pathbreaking author of The Feminine Mystique, was powerful and polarizing. In this biography, the first in more than twenty years, Rachel Shteir draws on Friedan's papers and on interviews with family, colleagues, and friends to create a nuanced portrait. Friedan, born Bettye Naomi Goldstein, chafed at society's restrictions from a young age. As a journalist she covered racism, sexism, labor, class inequality, and anti-Semitism. As a wife and mother, she struggled to balance her work and homemaking. Her malaise as a housewife and her research into the feelings of other women resulted in The Feminine Mystique (1963), which made her a celebrity. Using her influence, Friedan cofounded the National Organization for Women, the National Women's Political Caucus, and the National Association to Repeal Abortion Laws. She fought for the Equal Rights Amendment, universal childcare, and workplace protections for mothers, but she disagreed with the women's liberation movement over ""sexual politics."" Shteir considers how Friedan's Judaism was essential to her feminism, presenting a new Friedan for a new era."

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Rachel Shteir is an award-winning essayist, writer, and critic, and is head of the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism Program at the Theatre School at DePaul University. She is the author of Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show, Gypsy: The Art of the Tease, and The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. Kim Niemi has appeared on numerous stages in the Boston area as an actor and singer/songwriter, including Theater Lobby in the North End, Chevalier Theatre, Club Cafe, Club Passim, The Lizard Lounge, and The Burren. She sang lead vocals for popular New England country bands DiggerDawg and STAMPEDE (as Kim Davidson), opening for national acts like Charlie Daniels and Rodney Atkins. Kim is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and a proud member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA. Her voice has been described as soothing, soulful, and powerful.

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