USABLE PERFORMANCE FEMINISM FOR OUR TIME 351 focuses on"the family"and was published on the cusp of the expiration date for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment,with an eye to promoting the idea that "neither woman nor man lives by work,or love,alone."4 The same year that The Second Stage appeared,Friedan was,for her pains,branded a"reformer"and "not feminist" by Gloria Steinem,who said that the book failed to talk about abortion or race,and "didn't say anything to me."4 In 1993,Friedan's The Fountain of Age attacked ageism and the treating of senior citizens as a cross between invalids and pathetic fifth-wheels. Her goal was to expose prejudices and unequal treatment as well as to combat the internalization of ageist values on the part of seniors themselves. Friedan's final political book is the 1997 Beyond Gender,whose theme includes the idea that"identity politics cannot provide the answers for our economic future.... Women's quests for economic equality are hampered by systems that do not tolerate creative solutions to the standard work schedule (with telecommuting,job sharing, and a flexible work week among the possible solutions)."4 Friedan's idea of equality, though,led her to assert that,"we will be pushed back if we don't think beyond our own pay equity and career advances compared with men's."49 The crucial issues for her were adequate child care for all working parents(something that cuts across most class lines),health care,care for the elderly (another cross-class issue),and more time for parents of both sexes and any sexuality to balance work with family life.What if this means only one source of revenue?Friedan proffered a possible partial solution in the form of higher taxes on corporate profits and luxury goods."Again,"she wrote,"I wonder is the feminist focus on gender issues adequate to today's problems?"50 For so-called third-wave feminists,the above question is a landmine.Portrayed by the media as an agglomeration of Ali McBeals,Sex and the City wannabes,lipstick lesbians,and apolitical nesters,the third wave got its name from an essay by biracial activist Rebecca Walker,who screamed her outrage in 1992 at a world in which men of any class still felt entitled to boast loudly of their sexual exploits in public(and in the presence of children),and to call Walker a "bitch"delivering "bullshit"when she angrily rebuffed a come-on.Walker named her goals as the "history,health,and healing of women"and to "join in sisterhood with women...to understand power structures with the intention of challenging them."1 Although I am suggesting a Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive suggests that failure to find fulfillment in the heteronormative path of marriage and children might have its roots in the toxicity facilitated by that very set-up when the domestic life is an unexamined life.Friedan's overarching concerns partnered with the themes of well-known liberal feminist plays. "Betty Friedan,The Second Stage(New York:Summit Books,1981),95.Donald Margulies's Dinner with Friends (the 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner that was quickly adapted for HBO by Norman Jewison) reveals that many men and women cannot live by work and love together,without wanting more of one or the other or both 45 Signature,"Gloria Steinem,"pt.1.CBS Television,broadcast November 4,1981.Available at the Paley Center,Museum of Television and Radio,New York City. Betty Friedan,The Fountain of Age(New York:Simon and Schuster,1993). 4The Gin Game(1976),Driving Miss Daisy(1987),and Having Our Say(1995)are plays making analo- gous interventions in popular stereotyping. Lisa Krissoff Boehm,review of Beyond Gender:The New Politics of Work and Family,H-Women,H-Net Reviews (May 1998),available at http://h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path-22954895184283. Betty Friedan,Beyond Gender:The New Politics of Work and Family,ed.Brigit O'Farrell (Washington, DC:Woodrow Wilson Center,1997),50. 0bid.,56,67. 51 Rebecca Walker,"Becoming the Third Wave,"in The Essential Feminist Reader,ed.Estelle B.Freed- man (New York:Random House,2007),398-401,quote on 400. This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat,16 Jan 2016 12:04:58 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsUSABLE PERFORMANCE FEMINISM FOR OUR TIME / 351 focuses on "the family" and was published on the cusp of the expiration date for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, with an eye to promoting the idea that "neither woman nor man lives by work, or love, alone."44 The same year that The Second Stage appeared, Friedan was, for her pains, branded a "reformer" and "not feminist" by Gloria Steinem, who said that the book failed to talk about abortion or race, and "didn't say anything to me."45 In 1993, Friedan's The Fountain of Age*6 attacked ageism and the treating of senior citizens as a cross between invalids and pathetic fifth-wheels.47 Her goal was to expose prejudices and unequal treatment as well as to combat the internalization of ageist values on the part of seniors themselves. Friedan's final political book is the 1997 Beyond Gender, whose theme includes the idea that "identity politics cannot provide the answers for our economic future .... Women's quests for economic equality are hampered by systems that do not tolerate creative solutions to the standard work schedule (with telecommuting, job sharing, and a flexible work week among the possible solutions)."48 Friedan's idea of equality, though, led her to assert that, "we will be pushed back if we don't think beyond our own pay equity and career advances compared with men's."49 The crucial issues for her were adequate child care for all working parents (something that cuts across most class lines), health care, care for the elderly (another cross-class issue), and more time for parents of both sexes and any sexuality to balance work with family life. What if this means only one source of revenue? Friedan proffered a possible partial solution in the form of higher taxes on corporate profits and luxury goods. "Again," she wrote, "I wonder is the feminist focus on gender issues adequate to today's problems?"50 For so-called third-wave feminists, the above question is a landmine. Portrayed by the media as an agglomeration of Ali McBeals, Sex and the City wannabes, lipstick lesbians, and apolitical nesters, the third wave got its name from an essay by biracial activist Rebecca Walker, who screamed her outrage in 1992 at a world in which men of any class still felt entitled to boast loudly of their sexual exploits in public (and in the presence of children), and to call Walker a "bitch" delivering "bullshit" when she angrily rebuffed a come-on. Walker named her goals as the "history, health, and healing of women" and to "join in sisterhood with women ... to understand power structures with the intention of challenging them."51 Although I am suggesting a Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive suggests that failure to find fulfillment in the heteronormative path of marriage and children might have its roots in the toxicity facilitated by that very set-up when the domestic life is an unexamined life. Friedan's overarching concerns partnered with the themes of well-known liberal feminist plays. 44 Betty Friedan, The Second Stage (New York: Summit Books, 1981), 95. Donald Margulies's Dinner with Friends (the 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner that was quickly adapted for HBO by Norman Jewison) reveals that many men and women cannot live by work and love together, without wanting more of one or the other or both 45 Signature f "Gloria Steinem," pt. 1. CBS Television, broadcast November 4, 1981. Available at the Paley Center, Museum of Television and Radio, New York City. 46 Betty Friedan, The Fountain of Age (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993). 47 The Gin Game (1976), Driving Miss Daisy (1987), and Having Our Say (1995) are plays making analo￾gous interventions in popular stereotyping. 48 Lisa Krissoff Boehm, review of Beyond Gender: The New Politics of Work and Family, H- Women, H-Net Reviews (May 1998), available at http:l/h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=22954895184283. 49 Betty Friedan, Beyond Gender: The New Politics of Work and Family, ed. Brigit O'Farrell (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center, 1997), 50. "Ibid.,^^. 51 Rebecca Walker, "Becoming the Third Wave," in The Essential Feminist Reader, ed. Estelle B. Freed￾man (New York: Random House, 2007), 398-401, quote on 400. 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