SHORT TAKES : Women Age Better, Friedan Says

Women ordinarily age better than men do, pioneer feminist Betty Friedan says.

Addressing about 100 social workers and other professionals at the Maimonides Hospital Geriatric Centre, Friedan offered what she believes are the reasons why.

“We are able to share feelings with each other, to have a confidant more easily than men are, and these intimate ties are important in good healthy lives,” she said Wednesday.

Studies show most men don’t have confidants, Friedan said. Indeed, she said, most women’s main complaint about men is that they are not intimate with them, that they do not communicate.

Friedan, 69, wrote “The Feminine Mystique” nearly 30 years ago and is credited with having helped launch the women’s movement.