Stephanie Coontz knows how to bring in a crowd. With about 300 guests in attendance, her humor and understanding of men and women in society made it easy to see how far society has come.
Coontz, an author and historian, gave a presentation Wednesday at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service in Pugh Hall titled: Mad Men, Working ‘Girls,’ and Desperate Housewives: Women, Men and Marriage in 1963 and 2013.
She discussed her research into American family policy, women’s activism and the history of marriage in the United States.
Guests heard Coontz’ first-hand experience with society in the 1960s and the growth of society since then.
“I really like the way she kind of tied in the anniversary of ‘The Feminine Mystique’ 50 years ago and the kind of things that are going on today,” said Melissa Blouin, director of news and publications for UF&Shands.
Throughout the speech, Coontz analyzed her understanding of “The Feminine Mystique,” a book she read when she was younger.
She said the secret of the book is it’s so dated compared to today, and it shows how far society has come.
Curt Eichel, a retired detective, said the speech enlightened him.
“Being a male, I guess I never really give a lot of thought to the real issues facing women … all the struggles that women have had to overcome in just the last 50 years,” he said.
Erin Conlin, a UF history professor and graduate coordinator for the Samuel Proctor Oral History program, said she enjoyed hearing Coontz talk about her books.
“It’s always great when you hear an author talking about their work,” she said. “They’re more familiar with it. It puts a personal flavor on the stories that maybe you’ve read about or you get more context to it,” she said.
