Feministic movements have been going around for hundreds of years now. In the United States feminism has been a long journey for women. During the early 1900’s women didn’t have much rights. It wasn’t till the mid and late 1900’s where women were accepted to political, educational, and clerical positions (Foner, 1004). In 1962, during the early stages of a feministic uprising; the Sex and the Single Girl was published by Helen Gurley Brown. This book, to me, is clearly a feminist text. When we define feminism it is the “advocacy of women’s social, political, and economic rights, especially with regard to equality of the sexes” (“Feminism”). Brown’s Novel, Sex and the Single Girl explains to women how she …show more content…
Throughout the novel Brown explains the pros and cons of being independent. She outlines the important aspects to focus on that are important to live a full and happy single life as a woman in the 1960’s. Each chapter in the book talks discuses a different situation or change that single women have to face only a daily base. For example, chapter 2 The Availables: The Men in Your Life explain the types of men a single woman meets and can categorize them. One of the categories is “The eligibles: These are the men you could marry, maybe. They are single, reasonably attractive and introducible to your friends” (Brown, 17). Chapter 4 How to Be Sexy illuminates that different styles of sexiness can be “a powerful weapon for a single woman in getting what she wants from life” (Brown, 70). Chapter 9 The Shape You’re In gives pointers on how to stay fit, from simple recopies to exercise routines, and it also brings emphasizes that there is only “one tunnel from which [women] will emerge so attractive, so sexy, so young-looking … It’s exercise” (Brown, 180). Just a few of these chapters from the book give enough evidence to confidently demonstrate that this book advocates single women to have their social, economic, and sexual …show more content…
It is a guide for women to break out of their comfort zone of just being a housewife who obey their husbands. This book goes against “the Ohio Supreme Court, [which] held that a wife was ‘at most a superior servant to her husband’” (Foner, 1004). I also believe that the reason why this novel was so popular was because it gave a different perspective to women. It also was a big push toward a feminist movement that occurred during the 1960’s. As a result, women hoped for a better and more equal life for themselves. Sex and the Single Girl is a feminist text, the main audience for it, I believe, are young teenage women who have their lives in front of them, and are looking for possible future plans. They look for possibilities where they might not need to marry someone at the age of 20 and become a servant. The novel also outlines how to become a successful independent