Susan Faludi
A Pulitzer-winning journalist who dissected the backlash against feminism and the fragile architecture of modern masculinity with unflinching clarity.
Born 1959 (age 67)·American feminist author and journalist·Birthday: April 18·Baby Boomers
Biography
Susan Faludi emerged as a powerful voice in American journalism through meticulous reporting that exposed systemic social fractures. Her 1991 Pulitzer Prize was awarded for a Wall Street Journal article detailing the human toll of a corporate takeover, setting a precedent for her work: always locating the personal consequence within the political structure. She became a defining critic of post-feminist complacency with her 1991 book 'Backlash,' a rigorously researched bestseller that argued gains in women's rights were being systematically undermined. Faludi later turned her lens on masculinity in 'Stiffed,' exploring the crisis of identity among American men in a post-industrial economy. In a deeply personal shift, she investigated her own father's life and transgender transition in 'In the Darkroom,' a work that won the Kirkus Prize and was a Pulitzer finalist, blending memoir with a exploration of identity, history, and trauma.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Susan was born in 1959, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Susan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1959
#1 Movie
Ben-Hur
Best Picture
Ben-Hur
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Susan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1959Born
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1964Started school
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1972Became a teenager
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Could drive
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1977Could vote
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1980Turned 21
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1989Turned 30
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 40
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 50
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 60
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 67 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991 for her report on the Safeway Stores leveraged buyout.
- Wrote the influential bestseller 'Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women,' which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction.
- Received the Kirkus Prize for 'In the Darkroom,' her exploration of her father's transgender identity and family history.
- Was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography for 'In the Darkroom.'
Did You Know?
She worked as a reporter for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker.
Her father, a Holocaust survivor, underwent gender transition late in life, which became the subject of her award-winning book.
She is a graduate of Harvard University.
Faludi's 'Backlash' was credited with reigniting public debate about feminism in the early 1990s.
“The backlash against women is nothing more than an attempt to retract the handful of small, hard-won victories that the feminist movement did manage to win for women.”
