--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What had really caused the women's…" description: "\"What had really caused the women's movement was the additional years of human life. At the turn of the century women's life expectancy was forty-six; n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg" --- # What had really caused the women's movement was the… ![“What had really caused the women's movement was the additional years of human life. At the turn of the century women's life expectancy was forty-six; now it was nearly eighty. Our groping sense that we couldn't live all those years in terms of motherhood alone was "the problem that had no name."…” quote by Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg) > “What had really caused the women's movement was the additional years of human life. At the turn of the century women's life expectancy was forty-six; now it was nearly eighty. Our groping sense that we couldn't live all those years in terms of motherhood alone was "the problem that had no name." Realizing that it was not some freakish personal fault but our common problem as women had enabled us to take the first steps to change our lives.” [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Women’s longer lifespans revealed that roles beyond motherhood were needed, sparking collective feminist awakening. **In simple terms:** Longer lives showed need for more than motherhood. Key Takeaway Recognize and pursue broader life purposes. Themes feminism identity longevity social change Mood reflective inspirational Type analytical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - family planning - education - political activism Key Concepts existential fulfillment gender roles life expectancy Questions to Reflect On - How does increased life expectancy reshape personal goals? - What societal structures support women beyond motherhood? A Different Perspective May overlook economic constraints on choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life expectancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-expectancy/) [Motherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherhood/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [Motherhood is beautiful, it is the most beautiful phase in any women's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-deol/motherhood-is-beautiful-it-is-the-most-beautiful-phase-in-any-women-s/) [Esha Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-deol/) > [Men should never be the prime focus of women's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neena-gupta/men-should-never-be-the-prime-focus-of-women-s-life/) [Neena Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neena-gupta/) > [More than a billion women around the world want to emulate western women's lifestyles and are rapidly acquiring the material ability to do so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-burfitt-dons/more-than-a-billion-women-around-the-world-want-to-emulate-western/) [Louise Burfitt-Dons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-burfitt-dons/) > [The believed 'lack' in good men have caused women to be impatient and more likely to settle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-believed-lack-in-good-men-have-caused-women-to-be-impatient-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He gave her the kind of slow, sexy grin that had, for centuries, caused women to make very bad choices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mallery/he-gave-her-the-kind-of-slow-sexy-grin-that-had-for-centuries-caused/) [Susan Mallery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mallery/) > [Because viewing my naked chest has caused many women to seriously injure themselves stampeding to get to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/because-viewing-my-naked-chest-has-caused-many-women-to-seriously/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I deeply regret the damage my original case caused women. I want the Supreme Court to examine the evidence and have a spirit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-mccorvey/i-deeply-regret-the-damage-my-original-case-caused-women-i-want-the/) [Norma McCorvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-mccorvey/) > [In social settings, under the guise of joking, being collegial, flirting, or having a good time, I undoubtedly caused some women to question themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/in-social-settings-under-the-guise-of-joking-being-collegial-flirting/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) > [“Ummiye is currently working on a screenplay called "Footless on Her Own Feet." It tells the story of a handicapped girl whose fifty-year-old mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/ummiye-is-currently-working-on-a-screenplay-called-footless-on-her/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Do you want to kill his love for you? What sort of existence will he have if you rob him of the fruits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/do-you-want-to-kill-his-love-for-you-what-sort-of-existence-will-he/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [All year there have been these cover stories that the women's movement is dead and about the death of feminism and the post-feminist generation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/all-year-there-have-been-these-cover-stories-that-the-women-s/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The media and even, to some degree, leaders of women's organizations don't understand that the women's movement is an absolute part of society now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-media-and-even-to-some-degree-leaders-of-women-s-organizations/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The only kind of work which permits an able woman to realize her abilities fully, to achieve identity in society in a life plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-only-kind-of-work-which-permits-an-able-woman-to-realize-her/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [There are some die-hard male chauvinist pigs and there are some Neanderthal women who are threatened by equality - but the great majority, polls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/there-are-some-die-hard-male-chauvinist-pigs-and-there-are-some/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [Next to God we are indebted to women, first for life itself, and then for making it worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcleod-bethune/next-to-god-we-are-indebted-to-women-first-for-life-itself-and-then/) [Mary McLeod Bethune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcleod-bethune/) ## More by Betty Friedan > [It is easier to live life through someone else than to become complete yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someone-else-than-to-become/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [This idea that the employment of women, the movement of women outside the home into the work world, and their demand for equality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/this-idea-that-the-employment-of-women-the-movement-of-women-outside/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [A good woman is one who loves passionately, has guts, seriousness and passionate convictions, takes responsibility, and shapes society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/a-good-woman-is-one-who-loves-passionately-has-guts-seriousness-and/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [...women who 'adjust' as housewives, who grow up wanting to be 'just a housewife,' are in as much danger as the millions who walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/women-who-adjust-as-housewives-who-grow-up-wanting-to-be-just-a/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [You can have it all, just not all at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/you-can-have-it-all-just-not-all-at-the-same-time/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [It is easier to live through someone else than to complete yourself. The freedom to lead and plan your own life is frightening if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-through-someone-else-than-to-complete-yourself/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [Protectiveness has often muffled the sound of doors closing against women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/protectiveness-has-often-muffled-the-sound-of-doors-closing-against/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“The problem is always being the children’s mommy, or the minister’s wife and never being myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-problem-is-always-being-the-children-s-mommy-or-the-minister-s/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-problem-lay-buried-unspoken-for-many-years-in-the-minds-of/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The man who is extremely and dangerously hungry has no other interest but food. Capacities not useful for the satisfying of hunger are pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-man-who-is-extremely-and-dangerously-hungry-has-no-other-interest/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to become themselves? Who knows what women's intelligence will contribute when it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/who-knows-what-women-can-be-when-they-are-finally-free-to-become/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [If women’s role in life is limited solely to housewife/mother, it clearly ends when she can no longer bear more children and the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/if-women-s-role-in-life-is-limited-solely-to-housewife-mother-it/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The feminine mystique has succeeded in burying millions of American women alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-feminine-mystique-has-succeeded-in-burying-millions-of-american/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [I can't point to any major episodes of sexual discrimination in my early life. But I was so aware of the crime, the shame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/i-can-t-point-to-any-major-episodes-of-sexual-discrimination-in-my/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“The feminine mystique, elevated by Freudian theory into a scientific religion, sounded a single, overprotective, life-restricting, future-denying note for women. Girls who grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-feminine-mystique-elevated-by-freudian-theory-into-a-scientific/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) [Explore all 137 Betty Friedan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What had really caused the women's movement was the additional years of human life. At the turn of the century women's life expectancy was forty-six; now it was nearly eighty. Our groping sense that we couldn't live all those years in terms of motherhood alone was \"the problem that had no name.\" Realizing that it was not some freakish personal fault but our common problem as women had enabled us to take the first steps to change our lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Betty Friedan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movement-was-the-additional-years/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movement-was-the-additional-years/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/betty-friedan-3185_century_what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movem_2548244.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What had really caused the women's movement was the additional years of human life. At the turn of the…” — Betty Friedan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Betty Friedan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What had really caused the women's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movement-was-the-additional-years/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/what-had-really-caused-the-women-s-movement-was-the-additional-years/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```