A MEETING IN 1969 AT THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION:
Picture this: Mallory Millet goes to this meeting with her sister, Kate, and a bunch of NOW folks in 1969.
Kate is famous for writing a book called "Sexual Politics". This book basically lit the fuse on all that anger toward traditional roles. The women at this NOW meeting straight-up chant about starting a "Cultural Revolution" by destroying the American family.
This is how it went according to Mallory:
The Chairwoman of NOW approached the podium:
“Why are we here today?” she asked.
“To make revolution,” they would answer.
“What kind of revolution?” she replied.
“The Cultural Revolution,” they chanted
“And how do we make the cultural, cultural revolution?” she demanded.
“By destroying the American family,” they answered.
“How do we destroy the family?” she came back.
“By destroying the American patriarch,” they cried exuberantly.
“And how do we destroy the American patriarch?” she replied.
“By taking away his power.”
“By destroying monogamy!” they shouted.
“And how can we destroy monogamy?”
“By promoting promiscuity, eroticism, prostitution, abortion, and homosexuality.”
Mallory Millet -- who is not a feminist of the 2nd wave -- ties it back to Betty Friedan's book, "The Feminine Mystique", which painted the stay-at-home mom life as this soul-crushing prison. The idea was: women and men are totally interchangeable, biology doesn't matter much, and career + sexual freedom is the real liberation. Add the Pill and the Sexual Revolution, and boom — family takes a backseat!
Now, in 2026, we're now reaping what this brand of feminism has sown.
Divorce skyrocketed after no-fault laws, more single moms, fewer kids, people marrying later or not at all. Dads got pushed out of the picture, and kids often paid the price in stability, money, and life outcomes.
It flipped the script on what it means to be a woman or man. Homemaking got trashed, hook-up stuff got glorified, and "traditional" started sounding like a bad word. Religion and old-school values took a hit too.
It fed into bigger left-leaning shifts — more government stepping in for childcare/welfare, identity stuff everywhere, and this constant framing of men/ the enemy.
On the flip side, yeah, women got more chances in jobs and school, which is cool for a lot of people. But the downsides — loneliness, fertility crashing, confused kids on gender, weak families — are real and backed by stats. Radical feminism (with its Marxist roots) treated the natural family like the enemy instead of the foundation.
Reversing the feminist narrative means living out better examples and not being afraid to say sex differences and stable homes actually matter.
We need to build own own strong families — marry younger if it fits, value Moms and Dads, teach kids real responsibility instead of the "you can have it all" fantasy. Make family the priority again. Marry someone with the same values, have kids earlier if you can, and fight to keep the marriage strong even when it’s hard. Raise kids with clear roles and realism instead of “girlboss or bust.” Teach boys to be responsible men and girls that building a home isn’t failure.
We must push back culturally. Home-School or pick good schools, support shows / books that celebrate normal families, call out the extremes with facts and logic instead of feelings. The old script was “grow up, get married, build something together.” Now it’s “you do you,” casual sex, situationships, and social media making everyone compare their behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlight reel. Homemaking and full-time motherhood got mocked as lame or oppressive, so a lot of women feel pulled in every direction and guilty no matter what they choose. Men got the message that their provider/protector role is toxic, so some check out or act aimless.
Policy-wise: Make divorce harder (cooling-off periods), tax breaks for families, protect women's sports / spaces, school choice so parents aren't stuck with woke indoctrination. We must all out the garbage for what it is. Skip the media that shames stay-at-home moms or pushes endless self-focus. Support creators, schools, and friends who live it out successfully.
Lastly: Get involved in churches or communities that actually support marriage and kids. Fix the economy so young people can afford houses and babies without going broke. It’s okay (actually awesome) to want a career and a family, but don’t buy the lie that you can peak in both at the exact same time without trade-offs. Same for men—step up as dads! We’ve got more “independent” people than ever, but way more anxiety, depression, and “where are all the good men/women?” complaints. Extended family and neighborhood support faded too —everyone’s nuclear (or broken nuclear) and chasing individual success.
The big feminist mistake was basically telling women: your natural instincts to build a home, bond with kids, and team up with a man are actually traps holding you back. Instead, chase career first, treat marriage as temporary, and see kids as something you can slot in (or out) whenever it fits your personal fulfillment. That mindset, mixed with easy divorce and abortion as backups, ripped a lot of stability out of everyday life and society is paying for it.
Hey, it’s not about going back to 1955 exactly — women having real choices is good. But we swung way, way, too far into “family is optional and kinda lame,” --- and the data shows that’s hurting our generation. As a nation, we must realign and change course.
