When women were not pregnant or married they could maintain a secretarial job. When women found out they were pregnant they were supposed to tell their husbands and stop working immediately. Women began to prepare for their baby by tidying up the house: ironing, cooking, vacuuming, etc., They also gathered baby care items: cribs, bottles, diapers, etc.. Women were increasingly fed up because they couldn't do what they wanted to in terms of jobs and making decisions. The Feminine Mystique challenged women to defy their stereotypical roles by not performing them well or not doing them at all.
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