Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The 1960s were a period when long‐held values and norms of behavior seemed to break
down, particularly among the young. Many college‐age men and women became
political activists and were the driving force behind the civil rights and antiwar
spread throughout the Western world. It lasted into the mid-1970s. The counterculture
movement involved large groups of people, predominantly young people and youth,
who rejected many of the beliefs that were commonly held by society at large. This
rejection was most often shown in the form of non-violent protests. The subject of these
caused by rapid industrialization, and the discrimination of minority groups. The youth
also fought for the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the sexual freedom.
other factors also contributed to the change in attitudes toward sexuality. Oral
contraceptives became available, and by 1970, 12 million women were “on the pill.”
The use of other means of birth control, such as diaphragms and IUDs, also increased.
Many states had already legalized abortion, and the new women's movement was
committed to making the procedure even more widely available. Throughout the sexual
revolution, which lasted until the onset of the AIDS crisis in the mid‐'80s, the birth rate
declined, and the number of abortions, unwed mothers, and divorces rose.
Hippies. Like the members of the New Left, the Hippies were mostly middle‐class
whites but without the political drive. Their hallmarks were a particular style of dress
that included jeans, tie‐dyed shirts, sandals, beards, long hair, and a lifestyle that
embraced sexual promiscuity and recreational drugs, including marijuana and the
hallucinogenic LSD. The sex and drug culture were reflected in the rock music of the
time by such groups as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead and performers like
Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Although some young people established communes in
Anti-nuclear
In 1961 and 1962, at the height of the Cold War, about 50,000 women brought together
Feminism
The starting point for contemporary feminism was the 1963 publication of Betty
Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, which argued that women should be allowed to find
their own identity, an identity not necessarily limited to the traditional roles of wife and
mother. The number of women attending college skyrocketed during the 1960s, and
many became involved with both the New Left and the civil rights movement. Even
Columbia University, for instance, women were assigned duties such as making coffee
and typing. Consequently, although the political activism of the 1960s was a catalyst for
women's liberation, feminism became most effective when it created its own groups. In
issues as allotting federal aid for day‐care centers for working mothers, guaranteeing
often relocated to the country from cities. Counterculture environmentalists were quick
to grasp the implications of Ehrlich's writings on overpopulation, the Hubbert "peak oil"
they saw that the dilemmas of energy and resource allocation would have implications
for geo-politics, lifestyle, environment, and other dimensions of modern life. The "back
to nature" theme was already prevalent in the counterculture by the time of the 1969
Woodstock festival, while the first Earth Day in 1970 was significant in bringing
Gay liberation
police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall
frequently cited as the first instance in US history when people in the gay community
and became the defining event that marked the start of the Gay rights movement in the
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution (also known as a time of "sexual liberation") was a social
well as the older generation. Numerous protests took place in different cities involving
police and the counterculture propagators. In most instances, their newly adopted
culture was unacceptable and therefore banned. Many activists and students involved in
the counterculture movement were arrested. However, the counterculture movement had
a significant, lasting influence on the music, fashion, literature, and art of the Western World.
The movement addressed some taboo topics such as homophobia, xenophobia, and racism. As
a result, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community gained greater
acceptance, and same-sex relationships were eventually legalized in most states of the United
States (albeit several decades later). Racial segregation was abolished in most states following
The counterculture movement of the 1960s played a key role in shaping modern day
society. It led to growth in the music industry which continues up to date. It resulted in a
less conservative and more liberal society. The movement has been accused of leading
counterculture movement has led to the unruly and violent society we have today.