Sex in the 1960's

Sex in the 1960’s

By Marcus Beasley

             The 1960’s was a time period when a lot of things in America was happening that had to do with sex. Hugh Hefner was a household name by the 1960’s. Hugh Hefner was the guy who created Playboy Magazine and he is very successful. The magazine was aimed at men that did not want to settle down and thought that getting married was a trap financially and that you should spend your money for yourself. During the mid-60’s Hefner had created an empire for himself. He had hundreds of millions of dollars, a skyscraper, private jet, and a mansion on the gold coast of Chicago.[1] Hefner is still alive today and he is still doing what he always has done. The playboy name is one of the most common names when it comes to magazines aimed toward men featuring naked women. Pretty much everybody knew what a playboy magazine is even if you have never seen one. You can thank Hefner for creating such a name that everyone knows exactly what it is even if you have never viewed a playboy magazine.

            The pill was an invention that was made in the 60’s and has forever had an effect on sex. In 1960, Enovid, was the very first birth control pill that was available to the public.[2] The pill is one of the main forms of birth control used today because of how easy it is to use and how effective it is. The reason that the pill was so successful was because it is a reliable form of birth control as well as controlled by the woman herself. She can be the only person that knows that she is taking the pill if she wants to.[3]

            The late 60’s was all about hippies. Hippies were very free and believed in peace and love. San Francisco was a place where many of the hippies would go and they were called flower children by the government. The intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets was a place where hippies would go. The summer of 1967 was the year that many hippies went to the famous intersection and initiated a cultural and political shift.[4] Woodstock was a giant rock festival that many hippies attended in 1969. The Woodstock festival was really unsanitary and there. There were huge traffic jams and shortages of necessities such as food, water, and medical facilities. Drugs were everywhere at Woodstock and many of the 80 arrests were related to LSD, heroin and amphetamines. Marijuana was a drug that many of the people there used, and people were not arrested for it.[5]

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[1] Moore, Crystal. "The Sexualized Society The 1960’s and 1970’s in America." Lecture,, Charlotte, April 24, 2014.

[2] Cohen, Nancy. "How the Sexual Revolution Changed America Forever." www.alternet.org. (accessed April 27, 2014).

[3] Cohen, Nancy. "How the Sexual Revolution Changed America Forever." www.alternet.org. (accessed April 27, 2014).

[4] Moore, Crystal. "The Sexualized Society The 1960’s and 1970’s in America." Lecture,, Charlotte, April 24, 2014.

[5] 1969 Fast Facts: Woodstock." www.foxnews.com. (accessed April 27, 2014).