# What Led to the Radical Sixties? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 21, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239 "2020-05-21T13:35:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/21 "2020-05-21T21:00:43Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > But of the dozen or more forms of birth control why was the pill so influential? The pill was safe, affordable, effective, and the allowed the woman to take full control of her reproduction. I think having full control of their reproductive cycle is what made the pill so important. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/22 "2020-05-21T21:07:12Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > But of the dozen or more forms of birth control why was the pill so influential? It was the first to be both extremely reliable and have bearable side effects. And it actually prevents pregnancy, unlike many of the botanical and chemical abortifacients women used to end pregnancies. It was under the control of women themselves, unlike condoms. It was private, and didn’t require doing anything to prepare for sex that might interrupt things or spoil the mood or dull the sensation. Finally, by 1965 the Supreme Court had ruled anti-birth control laws unconstitutional, which allowed many more women to actually use it (married women, at least – unmarried women had to wait until 1972 for that right to be affirmed). But the short answer is just that it was so much more effective than the birth control methods that existed before. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/23 "2020-05-21T22:50:40Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > But of the dozen or more forms of birth control why was the pill so influential? Because of its convenience. That’s still the case. Unlike other methods, it can also be used for other things (menstrual regulation, treatment of PCOS and endometriosis, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/24 "2020-05-22T01:18:37Z")
I’m not sure I’d include the pill and the sexual revolution as a cause of the radical '60s. It’s not like only people on the left were having sex. And radicals on the left were just about as sexist as conservatives on the right. However sexual freedom might have had an impact in that lots of people lied to their parents about their living arrangements. My roommate sophomore year was living with his girlfriend, and I covered for him. I suspect only kids with very religious parents have to lie today - my daughters didn’t have to. (And I didn’t have to, my parents were cool with it. Probably relieved.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/25 "2020-05-22T01:22:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I imagine it’s pretty hard to get wound up about social change when your first concern is feeding and sheltering your family, especially if it takes a lot of hard work to do that. > > The 1960s were the era in which the first generation to come of age AFTER WWII were young and in college. They’d never had to endure the privation their parents and grandparents had known from the world wars and the Depression, so there was a notion that things could be better and that they could make that change happen I suspect. We were the first generation to be born after WW II. Those who reached adulthood in the late '50s had it pretty good for most of the lives they remembered. There were fewer of them due to the war, but by the time of the late '60 there was well over a decade of prosperity. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/26 "2020-05-22T01:25:05Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Mass affluence, mass education and mass media. Affluence raises your expectations and your sense of possibility. Education exposes you to new ideas and values. The media feeds you new trends at a much faster pace than anything before. All three came together in an unprecedented way with the boomers. Of course Vietnam also played a role but it is striking how the fairly similar Korean war had such a massively different level of impact. That’s because the youth of the early 50s was very different from that of the late 60s. I was a baby during the Korean War, but that one started with a real attack and not a fake one, plus the people we were fighting for and with were on our side, unlike so many of the Vietnamese. Plus it was a lot shorter, and was more of a classical war not a guerilla war. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/27 "2020-05-22T01:29:22Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > But of the dozen or more forms of birth control why was the pill so influential? What dozen are you thinking of? I can only think of condoms, unreliable diaphragms (and I’m not sure about them) and the woman crossing her legs. Besides the other good responses, the pill meant that the man didn’t have to think about it and neither did the woman at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/28 "2020-05-22T02:56:09Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > What dozen are you thinking of? I can only think of condoms, unreliable diaphragms (and I’m not sure about them) and the woman crossing her legs. > Besides the other good responses, the pill meant that the man didn’t have to think about it and neither did the woman at the moment. There was also natural family planning (AKA the rhythm method) but then and now, it worked best for people who were trying TO conceive, not avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/29 "2020-05-22T03:16:37Z")
Was the fact that it was 100 years after the Civil War? A war which saw Americans splitting and going after each other? Alot of issues like growing radical youth, rock n roll, and minorities getting tired of segregation was growing in the 50’s. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/30 "2020-05-22T03:18:46Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > It was the first to be both extremely reliable and have bearable side effects. And it actually prevents pregnancy, unlike many of the botanical and chemical abortifacients women used to end pregnancies. It was under the control of women themselves, unlike condoms. It was private, and didn’t require doing anything to prepare for sex that might interrupt things or spoil the mood or dull the sensation. Finally, by 1965 the Supreme Court had ruled anti-birth control laws unconstitutional, which allowed many more women to actually use it (married women, at least – unmarried women had to wait until 1972 for that right to be affirmed). > > But the short answer is just that it was so much more effective than the birth control methods that existed before. Badly needed since all the cars had those big back seats. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/31 "2020-05-22T03:21:48Z")
My vote is that the pill had the largest influence but we’re probably overstating the influence of any one thing. The Roaring 20’s was just as radical for its time as the 60’s and most of the things we’re discussing had little to no influence in the 20’s. The 20’s had the odd incongruence of the liberal (Jazz, movies, flappers) with the conservative (Prohibition). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/32 "2020-05-22T04:04:36Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I think the comment was more about the acceptance of pornography rather than it’s invention. Pornographic movies like _Behind the Green Door,_ _Deep Throat,_ and _The Devil in Miss Jones_ received attention from mainstream press, some of it positive, and they were known throughout American households. These movies were released in the early 70s but the radical sixties actually went into the seventies. And let’s not forget the X-rated _Midnight Cowboy_. It would be laughable to consider it pornography now, but a lot of people did in 1969, and it won the Best Picture Oscar as well as two other major Oscars. That movie could not have even been made in 1959. > [@Deeg](#): > > My vote is that the pill had the largest influence but we’re probably overstating the influence of any one thing. **The Roaring 20’s was just as radical for its time as the 60’s and most of the things we’re discussing had little to no influence in the 20’s. The 20’s had the odd incongruence of the liberal** (Jazz, movies, flappers) **with the conservative** (Prohibition). Funny, but the history of the classical world I’m reading discusses a similar a generation gap in the Greek world, mainly Athens, between the 440s and the 420s BC. Who remembers that nowadays? I guess this sort of thing pops up every now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/33 "2020-05-22T04:43:17Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > What dozen are you thinking of? I can only think of condoms, unreliable diaphragms (and I’m not sure about them) and the woman crossing her legs. > Besides the other good responses, the pill meant that the man didn’t have to think about it and neither did the woman at the moment. > **[Birth Control Methods & Options | Types of Birth Control](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control)** > > Birth control is how to prevent pregnancy before it begins. There are lots of different methods and options that work really well and are easy to use. The IUD existed at the same time as the pill, and IUDs are highly effective too. Diaphrams, cervical caps, etc. also existed back then too and those are also effective. All these methods are under the control of the woman arguably. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/34 "2020-05-22T04:47:06Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > [https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control) > > The IUD existed at the same time as the pill, and IUDs are highly effective too. > > Diaphrams, cervical caps, etc. also existed back then too and those are also effective. All these methods are under the control of the woman arguably. Still, the advent of the pill is generally considered a game changer. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/35 "2020-05-22T04:51:28Z")
All of those things you list in the OP had been becoming increasingly public and accepted all through the twentieth century (and even before then). The following citations mostly refer to what was going on in the U.S. However, the same things were happening elsewhere: (Racial) civil rights: > **[Timeline of the civil rights movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_civil_rights_movement)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > > This is a timeline of the civil rights movement in the United States, a nonviolent mid-20th century freedom movement to gain legal equality and the enforcement of constitutional rights for people of color. The goals of the movement included securing equal protection under the law, ending legally institutionalized racial discrimination, and gaining equal access to public facilities, education reform, fair housing, and the ability to vote. Gay rights: > **[Timeline of LGBT history, 20th century](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history,_20th_century)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > The following is a timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) history in the 20th century. Women’s rights: > **[Timeline of women's suffrage in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_States)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > This timeline highlights milestones in women's suffrage in the United States, particularly the right of women to vote in elections at federal and state levels. > 1770s 1780s 1790s 1800s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1980sSee related Wikipedia pages References External links > 1789: The Constitution of the United States grants the states the power to set voting requirements. Generally, states limited th... > **[Timeline of women's legal rights in the United States (other than voting)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women%27s_legal_rights_in_the_United_States_(other_than_voting))** > > Timeline of women's legal rights in the United States (other than voting) represents formal legal changes and reforms regarding women's rights in the United States. That includes actual law reforms as well as other formal changes, such as reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents. For such things outside as well as in the United States, see Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting). The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of wome... Acceptance of general sexual rights: > **[Sexual revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_revolution)** > > The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s to the 1970s. Sexual liberation included increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships (primarily marriage). The normalization of contraception and the pill, public nudity, pornography, premarital sex, homosexuality, masturbat Se... So none of those things appeared out of nowhere, although they have may reached sufficient public acceptance at that point to become noticeable to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/36 "2020-05-22T06:27:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > There was also natural family planning (AKA the rhythm method) but then and now, it worked best for people who were trying TO conceive, not avoid it. I thought of that, but rejected it as a reasonable method. If you meant the Church recommended it because they wanted you to conceive no matter what you wanted, I’m with you. I never heard timing to conceive called the rhythm method, though we did it (got it in 1) and did my daughter (who also got it in 1.) All of which made us all glad we are rigorous about using birth control. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/37 "2020-05-22T06:33:10Z")
In terms of sex, we’ve come a long, long way since then. We watch Wheel of Fortune, about as mainstream America as you can get, and people talk about their children with girlfriends and boyfriends, and a lot of players acknowledge same sex partners. I think the changes are permanent now. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/38 "2020-05-22T06:56:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I was a baby during the Korean War, but that one started with a real attack and not a fake one, plus the people we were fighting for and with were on our side, unlike so many of the Vietnamese. Plus it was a lot shorter, and was more of a classical war not a guerilla war. Fair enough but by 1952 the war had become a bloody stalemate and was increasingly unpopular in the US without leading to major anti-war protests. And the time frame can be a bit misleading. From a US perspective mass troop deployments only started in 1965. From there to the first major protests in 1967 was just two years, well within the duration of the Korean war. So while the two wars did have significant differences, cultural changes in the 15 years also played a major role in the public reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/39 "2020-05-22T13:29:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > [Birth Control Methods & Options | Types of Birth Control](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control) > > The IUD existed at the same time as the pill, and IUDs are highly effective too. > > Diaphrams, cervical caps, etc. also existed back then too and those are also effective. All these methods are under the control of the woman arguably. The IUD popular at the time required an invasive procedure where the physician dilated the cervix to insert the device and diaphrams, cervical caps, and other barrier methods had to be fitted to ensure they worked well. And so far as barrier methods go, there’s a difference between method effectiveness and actual effectiveness. One advantage the pill has over other methods is that women no longer had to make sure to take special precautions before sex as the pill took care of all that. It was a game changer. Other changes included court rulers making contraception available to married or unmarried women. It wasn’t until the mid-60s that married women had access to contraceptives in all states and it wasn’t until the early 70s until unmarried women had legal access to them in all states. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239/40 "2020-05-22T15:44:51Z")
What about the rebellious music? The Doors, for example (among many others) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-led-to-the-radical-sixties/854239.md?page=3)