The Feminine Mystique (excerpt pamphlet)

"The problem that has no name" refers to the pervasive dissatisfaction Betty Friedan identified among American housewives in the mid-20th century. In her landmark 1963 book, she argues that suburban women suffered from a systemic identity crisis due to being confined strictly to domestic roles.

The text was excerpted into pamphlets to achieve broader grassroots distribution among women and social organizations. This allowed Friedan's core arguments about women's unhappiness in the domestic sphere to circulate widely without requiring readers to purchase the full book.

The Feminine Mystique was originally published in 1963. It quickly became a catalyst for second-wave feminism in the United States by challenging the post-World War II belief that women were entirely fulfilled by domestic life.

The book is widely credited with sparking the second-wave feminist movement in the US during the 1960s. By exposing the systemic identity crisis of suburban housewives, it drastically shifted public discourse around gender roles and women's career opportunities.