The 1960s

1. For this assignment you need to draw a peace sign. You will use the handout entitled “The 1960’s” AND your book (Chapter 23: Section 3) to fill in the four sections of your peace sign. • Section one will include the main points about the sexual revolution. • Section two will include the main points about the drugs of the era. • The third section shall include the main points about the music of the decade. • Lastly, section four will include the main points about the fashion of the 1960’s. • Decorate your sign in a way that represents the philosophy of the 1960’s.

2. The 1960s January 1961 saw the inauguration of a new president, John F. Kennedy. The youngest president ever, he brought a vibrant energy into the White House, and claimed to represent a "new generation of Americans." His enthusiasm was contagious and his famous inaugural speech ended with "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." It was a rallying cry for young people to participate in the world's greatest democracy and together create a new vision of our future. The word hippie Hippie is first recorded in print in the early 1950s. It derives from the older hip, dating from around the turn of the century, which itself may be a variant form of hep. The word hip means "in the know" or "aware." There are several theories about the origin of the word, including one from the opium smokers, "on the hip" (as they reclined while smoking), through the West African Wolof language word hipicat meaning "one who has his eyes wide open." The Sexual Revolution The concept of "Free Love" as expressed by hippies, appeared during the 1960s due to the form of new knowledge about human sexuality, "the pill", psychedelic drugs, and a counter-culture, which rejected the conservative ways and embraced individual freedom. A new awareness of human sexuality began to spread among Americans starting with the Kinsey Report in 1948. It was a nine-year study of human sexuality, which opened up people's minds to the diversity of sexual behavior. The report indicated that approximately 10% of the total population is homosexual was astonishing to many Americans. In the late 1950s, Masters & Johnson did a series of clinical studies of Human sexual response in laboratory settings that explored our physiological functions in every fascinating detail. Their report became a best seller. These two studies set the backdrop for a new generation to explore their sexuality in a free and uninhibited way. Beatnik poets like Ginsberg and Kerouac wrote popular books that embraced sensuality and sexual experimentation as an essential ingredient to living life to its fullest. Rock n' Roll music likewise began to express the adolescent yearnings and forbidden desires that were previously repressed. Yet it took America with its conservative, Puritan roots awhile to catch on to this new awareness and freedom. Many still held strong to the idea that sex and marriage were a partnership not to be separated. But the biggest single event to liberate women from their designed roles as housewife and mother was the contraceptive pill. This along with other forms of birth control allowed women to have sex, without concern about unintended consequences. Some women refused to turn away from the accepted traditional role of women.

3. Drugs By the 1960s, the great majority of Americans had forgotten the lessons of the first drug epidemic. Moreover, the new Bohemians, Beat literary types, were sending a very different and powerful cultural message: drugs and altered states were part of being hip, social rebels. By encouraging a whole generation to see drug use as "normal," these cultural icons consigned millions to re-learn the painful consequences of rampant drug use - even as the drug menu was expanding to include amphetamines and psychedelics. This was the movement that involved people who did not care to follow the norms of society. So by the use of drugs, they began to "tune out" society and "tune in" their own reality. When many of the 76 million baby boomers embraced not just drugs, but also dealing and trafficking, the drug culture exploded. The two most popular drugs during the 60s were marijuana and LSD. Both of these drugs, termed hallucinogenic, put people in altered states of mind. While in these states, they would have "mind expanding experiences," see visions, hear voices, and other such psychic occurrences. These "trips" would take people out of reality into a different world. LSD became a symbol of love, serenity, and peace. People believed it promotes better community relations, positive feelings about relationships and way to see things in a different light. Because of the increased epidemic use of drug use in the 1960s many drug laws were passed in an attempt to control the problem. During the Vietnam War, soldiers became addicted by the thousands as had happened previously during wartime. Music Hippies used music to express themselves emotionally, spiritually, and politically. Music can make a statement, give voice to a movement, and even unite people. As hippies explore their inner world, music guided them along in their quest for meaning. The early sixties saw music becoming more than just entertainment; it was now music with a message. These songs spurred many to action. These songs had an impact on the consciousness of not just hippies but all society. Overall, the music made people think, dream, and made Americans feel as one people. The sixties gave birth to great musicians like; Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, The Who, The Doors, The Moody Blues, Peter, Paul and Mary, and The Mamas & The Pappas. Fashion Fashion was affected as much as any other area of changing attitudes and values of the 1960s. Above all, fashion in the 1960s tended to encourage exhibitionism. Miniskirts, lurid colors and see-through dresses all went along with the new attitudes of the sexual revolution. Designers recognized that teenagers didn't want to wear the dreary, conservative matching dress and coat ensembles, neat pleated skirts and twin-sets of their mothers. The 1960s responded by bringing things to extremes. Pierre Cardin made popular white boots and zombie glasses. Stark white, pastel, or checked fabrics were among the most popular. The Hippie movement, which first surfaced in California, nurtured a form of anti-fashion in which virtually all types of clothing were permissible, whether long or short, new or second-hand, patterned or plain, as long as the materials were natural. The psychedelic imagery gleaned from the use of hallucinogenic drugs also affected clothes designed, most notably in the exaggerated patterns and clothes of the fabrics that appeared at this time. The hippies showed off their independence and creativity with their own handcrafted items. Beads, leather, fringes, bangles, and vests represented the American Indian look. The hippy style tended to transmit signals of peace and love. Each personality had a fitting style of clothing. Throughout the 1960s, the distinctions between clothing made for men and that made for women became less obvious. But it was the Hippie style of dressing that first introduced a truly unisex look: men and women wore their hair long and it was possible for both sexes to wear exactly the same clothes only in a different size.