Friedan was inspired by the success of Vance Packard, whose The Hidden Persuaders, a book about hidden messages in advertising, started out as an article he could not get published. Friedan began to think of "The Togetherness Woman" as a full-length book. She had little trouble selling the idea to a book publisher: while magazines might avoid controversy rather than risk offending advertisers, the books that frequently sell best are the most controversial. Over the next five years she worked on the project, accumulating overwhelming evidence of discontent among American women. The results of her research were published as The Feminine Mystique.

Questioning Woman's Role.

The American society Friedan portrayed in the book bombards its women members with messages that they are worthy only as wifes or mothers, that they can be completely fulfilled through serving the other people in their families...