Rachel Lee Rubin’s book Well Met chronicles the history of the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, a cultural wellspring in 1960s Los Angeles, and subsequent events modeled after it. Through her research, Rubin shows the reader how the “Faire” has affected American culture and our lives today. The Faire is set in Shakespearean times. One early attendee drew her own connection to the Faire’s setting and the time of its development: “The Faire… had an intellectual focus on the history of an era of awakening from the Dark Ages (just as we were awakening from the Dark Ages of McCarthyism)” (Rubin 23). The Renaissance Faire was a grand experiment in cultural change. More open sexuality, free expression through audience participation, creativity in costuming
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Moreover, the acceptance of body image was accompanied by the acceptance of sexual relationships. During the 60s, oppression of homosexuals was common, a famous example being during McCarthy’s Lavender Scare when the federal government fired thousands of gay employees. The Faire served as a sanctuary where people of all sexual orientations could be “out”; this was perhaps its greatest countercultural feature and shaped the Faire into a different and a safer world for many. Faire visitors were able to fit in as they were, not judged or repressed for their orientation. This attracted large numbers of political activists to the Faire, one of which was young lesbian activist Carolyn Weathers. The Faire later inspired her to take part in the first gay pride parade in the United States, followed by nearly 50 years of activism. One achievement of hers was removing homosexuality as an illness, making her an “unsung hero in the LA LGBT community” (Zonkel). “Weathers bookends her reminiscence with two roads: the dirt road… and the ‘revolutionary road’... as they took part in the first gay pride parade, the liberating qualities of the Faire having moved them in that direction” (Rubin 197). The Faire inspired the progression of the sexual …show more content…
In 1960s United States, Conservatism was on the rise; in many circles, liberalism was considered the norm and conservatives were put down for thinking otherwise. Author Matt Dallek writes a common perspective on conservatism at the time.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s conservatives were widely dismissed as "kooks" and "crackpots" with no hope of winning political power… at this time liberalism is not only the dominant, but even the sole intellectual tradition… the right was not a serious, long-term political movement but rather a transitory phenomenon led by irrational, paranoid people who were angry at the changes taking place in America.
Moreover, the acceptance of body image was accompanied by the acceptance of sexual relationships. During the 60s, oppression of homosexuals was common, a famous example being during McCarthy’s Lavender Scare when the federal government fired thousands of gay employees. The Faire served as a sanctuary where people of all sexual orientations could be “out”; this was perhaps its greatest countercultural feature and shaped the Faire into a different and a safer world for many. Faire visitors were able to fit in as they were, not judged or repressed for their orientation. This attracted large numbers of political activists to the Faire, one of which was young lesbian activist Carolyn Weathers. The Faire later inspired her to take part in the first gay pride parade in the United States, followed by nearly 50 years of activism. One achievement of hers was removing homosexuality as an illness, making her an “unsung hero in the LA LGBT community” (Zonkel). “Weathers bookends her reminiscence with two roads: the dirt road… and the ‘revolutionary road’... as they took part in the first gay pride parade, the liberating qualities of the Faire having moved them in that direction” (Rubin 197). The Faire inspired the progression of the sexual …show more content…
In 1960s United States, Conservatism was on the rise; in many circles, liberalism was considered the norm and conservatives were put down for thinking otherwise. Author Matt Dallek writes a common perspective on conservatism at the time.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s conservatives were widely dismissed as "kooks" and "crackpots" with no hope of winning political power… at this time liberalism is not only the dominant, but even the sole intellectual tradition… the right was not a serious, long-term political movement but rather a transitory phenomenon led by irrational, paranoid people who were angry at the changes taking place in America.