Counterculture Of The 1960s Research Paper

Drugs, music, and sex, Oh My! The 1960s were some of the most turbulent years in American history. Vietnam conflict, Civil Rights, and the counterculture were all coursing through the nation, all of which contributed to modern American culture and society. From Woodstock to LSD to psychedelic rock, the counterculture produced some of the most iconic elements of the decade. The counterculture movement of the 1960s had a significant impact on American society and culture. Evidence of this impact is prevalent in both looking back to that time and looking at today’s society. Hippies, as they were called by many, were some of the catalysts of the turbulent 1960s. Even as a minority in comparison to the general public, they were still able to cause …show more content…
“It was drugs, communal activities...sex, anything that would give us an edge.” (Brokaw, 2007, 17:47). Perhaps, it was the simple idea of rebelling against conformity that gave the counterculture this edge. Regardless, it is this rebellious nature that blazed a path through every subsequent generation. In a 2007 documentary about the year 1968 (15:23), Tom Brokaw states, “Living in communes where they shared living space, food supplies, and even sexual partners.” This practice led to much backlash for its moral ambiguity (many would go so far as to label it as promiscuity); however, those who participated saw group sex as a pure connection with oneself and others. As Jane Degennaro would say later in life, “I had my first and only experience with group sex. I know there’s all that kind of stuff going on today, but when it happened to me there was an innocence about it-a purity...” (McWilliams, 2000, p.150). One must keep in mind that until this point in history, couples on television slept in separate beds and sex was not discussed in public or private. As a result, such drastically different behavior is likely to be condemned by the masses, regardless of spiritual value. Due to the counterculture’s radical behavior, sex in modern times is quite different than it was 50 years ago. A direct result of the counterculture’s communal sex practices can be seen in the higher rate of gonorrhea and syphilis after 1967 than before. The higher rate and diversity of STDs/STIs that today’s society is at risk for stems from the increase in casual, premarital sex that began within the figurative walls of subversive culture. Prolific and premarital sex of the counterculture was so vehemently gossiped about that a callous began to form around the taboo conversation. The general public is now virtually immune to sex/sexual references in