The Feminine Mystique drew large numbers of white, middle-class women to the feminist cause.[18] Her book "took the complicated and jargon-laden ideas of psychologists, economists, and political theorists, and translated them into powerful, readable, relatable prose that touched millions."
The Feminine Mystique was translated into many languages, including a Catalan translation in 1965: La mística de la feminitat. Friedan was the first feminist thinker to be published during the dictatorship of Francoist Spain.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was organized in 1966 with 30 women from different backgrounds; Friedan was one of them, and helped draft the founding statement of NOW. The statement called for "the true equality for all women". NOW demanded the removal of all barriers to "equal and economic advance".[19] Friedan's influence can be seen in the founding statement; a main emphasis of the book is "women's need for identity and autonomy", and NOW's statement says "NOW is dedicated to the proposition that women first and foremost are human beings, who… must have the chance to develop their fullest human potential."[18]
The Feminine Mystique is widely regarded as one of the most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century, and is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States.[2][20] Futurist Alvin Toffler declared that it "pulled the trigger on history."[2] Friedan received hundreds of letters from unhappy housewives after its publication, and she herself went on to help found, and become the first president of[21] the National Organization for Women, an influential feminist organization.[22]
In addition to its contribution to feminism, The Feminine Mystique related to many other coinciding movements. "Her work indicates for us the ways that feminism was interconnected with the struggles of working-class men and women, with black and Jewish battles against racism and anti-Semitism… As a result, The Feminine Mystique had substantial impact on a wide range of political activists, thinkers, and ordinary individuals."[23]
By the year 2000, The Feminine Mystique had sold over 3 million copies and had been translated into many foreign languages.[2]
On February 22 and 23, 2013, a symposium titled React: The Feminine Mystique at 50, co-sponsored by The New School for Public Engagement and The Parsons School of Design, was held.[24][25] An accompanying exhibit titled REACT was also on display, consisting of twenty-five pieces of artwork responding to The Feminine Mystique.[24]
Also in February 2013, a fiftieth-anniversary edition of The Feminine Mystique was published, with a new introduction by Gail Collins.[26]
Also in 2013, to celebrate its centennial the U.S. Department of Labor created a list of over 100 Books that Shaped Work in America, which included The Feminine Mystique.[27][28] The Department of Labor later chose The Feminine Mystique as one of its top ten books from that list.[28]
Also in 2013, The Feminine Mystique was discussed in Makers: Women Who Make America.[29]
In 2014, the Betty Friedan Hometown Tribute committee won the Superior Achievement award in the special projects category for its 50th anniversary celebration of the publication of The Feminine Mystique. They received the award from the Illinois State Historical Society.[30]
