354 /Dorothy Chansky at smith(a wholly separate segment)are positioned as the oddballs against a mass of young women voicing the view that sexual passivity,motherhood,and sexual differ- ence from men are the stuff of happiness.60 In 1974,an older,wiser,and clearly self-assured Friedan appeared on a WPIX New York episode of The Open Mind called "Sexual Identity and the American Family."Iost Richard Heffner guided a conversation among Friedan,George Gilder,and Dr.Ross Speck.Of the three guests,Friedan is the only one to be constantly interrupted by oth- ers.Thirty-four years after the broadcast,she is also the only one whose discourse still seems timely,as Speck advocated communes and played as a sort of hippie/guru sage, while Gilder said that his work achievements are"chiefly validated in his relations with women,"meanwhile fretting about the "special burdens of male sexuality,"since men,unlike women,can't find fulfillment in their own bodies.He worries,he said, about "all those women being told by Betty Friedan that there's...fulfillment out there in the marketplace."She replies that he should worry more about women who have to work and still can't earn enough to support themselves and their children.She also points out that even in the most traditional and stable of families,children grow up and leave.Therefore,she says,thinking about a future without them is something both sexes should address.51 In other words,"women's issues"are hardly only about sexual fulfillment,but about gendered status in relation to community and society over a lifetime.For her insights,Friedan was accused of being "hostile"as Gilder mocked and interrupted her.To my eye,she was feisty,articulate,self-assured,and at the top of her game. In 1988,in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of The Feminine Mystique,the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour staged a meeting of three generations of feminists to assess Friedan's and the women's movement's legacy and status.Friedan,then age sixty-seven,and Eleanor Holmes Norton,then fifty-one,spoke to the power of second- wave ideals,with Norton strategically calling The Feminine Mystique the "Uncle Tom's Cabin of the twentieth-century women's movement,"noting that despite Friedan's privileged position,she tapped into something"universal,"adding that,although the stay-at-home housewife position was rare for blacks and Hispanics,there had always been black and Hispanic women in the feminist movement.Anna Quindlen,then thirty-six and widely known for her New York Times column "Life in the Thirties," chatted confidently about how powerfully feminism had changed her life,equating it with all her friends who share information about"a great school for my kid,a job opportunity,a doctor,a good child-care person."Quindlen,not Friedan,sounds like the white,privileged,working mom whose status was shored up by changed laws and mindsets,but who was also(invisibly to her?)buttressed by education,intellect, opportunities,and appearance,with her straight hair,sweet smile,and "girl next door"wholesomeness. Philco Presents the World Over:The World's Girls,1963,Arthur Holch,producer and writer.Special Projects Presentation of ABC News.Available at the Paley Center,Museum of Television and Radio, New York City. A year before this broadcast in 1973.Tina Howe wrote Birth and Afterbirth,a play in which a large man plays a four-year old.The self-absorbed child's endless demands to be the center of attention and his parents'combined narcissism about and horror at their offspring's neediness were not what producers wanted from a woman playwright.Birth received its first professional production twenty-two years later at the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia,and was not produced in New York until 2006. This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat,16 Jan 2016 12:04:58 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions354 / Dorothy Chansky at Smith (a wholly separate segment) are positioned as the oddballs against a mass of young women voicing the view that sexual passivity, motherhood, and sexual differ￾ence from men are the stuff of happiness.60 In 1974, an older, wiser, and clearly self-assured Friedan appeared on a WPIX New York episode of The Open Mind called "Sexual Identity and the American Family." Host Richard Heffner guided a conversation among Friedan, George Gilder, and Dr. Ross Speck. Of the three guests, Friedan is the only one to be constantly interrupted by oth￾ers. Thirty-four years after the broadcast, she is also the only one whose discourse still seems timely, as Speck advocated communes and played as a sort of hippie /guru sage, while Gilder said that his work achievements are "chiefly validated in his relations with women," meanwhile fretting about the "special burdens of male sexuality," since men, unlike women, can't find fulfillment in their own bodies. He worries, he said, about "all those women being told by Betty Friedan that there's . . . fulfillment out there in the marketplace." She replies that he should worry more about women who have to work and still can't earn enough to support themselves and their children. She also points out that even in the most traditional and stable of families, children grow up and leave. Therefore, she says, thinking about a future without them is something both sexes should address.61 In other words, "women's issues" are hardly only about sexual fulfillment, but about gendered status in relation to community and society over a lifetime. For her insights, Friedan was accused of being "hostile" as Gilder mocked and interrupted her. To my eye, she was feisty, articulate, self-assured, and at the top of her game. In 1988, in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of The Feminine Mystique, the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour staged a meeting of three generations of feminists to assess Friedan's and the women's movement's legacy and status. Friedan, then age sixty-seven, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, then fifty-one, spoke to the power of second￾wave ideals, with Norton strategically calling The Feminine Mystique the "Uncle Tom's Cabin of the twentieth-century women's movement," noting that despite Friedan's privileged position, she tapped into something "universal," adding that, although the stay-at-home housewife position was rare for blacks and Hispanics, there had always been black and Hispanic women in the feminist movement. Anna Quindlen, then thirty-six and widely known for her New York Times column "Life in the Thirties," chatted confidently about how powerfully feminism had changed her life, equating it with all her friends who share information about "a great school for my kid, a job opportunity, a doctor, a good child-care person." Quindlen, not Friedan, sounds like the white, privileged, working mom whose status was shored up by changed laws and mindsets, but who was also (invisibly to her?) buttressed by education, intellect, opportunities, and appearance, with her straight hair, sweet smile, and "girl next door" wholesomeness. ophilco Presents the World Over: The World's Girls, 1963, Arthur Holch, producer and writer. Special Projects Presentation of ABC News. Available at the Paley Center, Museum of Television and Radio, New York City. 61 A year before this broadcast in 1973, Tina Howe wrote Birth and Afterbirth, a play in which a large man plays a four-year-old. The self-absorbed child's endless demands to be the center of attention and his parents' combined narcissism about and horror at their offspring's neediness were not what producers wanted from a woman playwright. Birth received its first professional production twenty-two years later at the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, and was not produced in New York until 2006. This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:04:58 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions