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Module 11

Social Reform Beyond Civil Rights (the late 1960s and the 1970s)

  1. Environmental Reform
    1. nuclear contamination:
      1. threat since discovery of fallout in early 1950s,
      2. efforts to limit live tests, moved them underground (thought would keep out of air but did not recognize underground contamination), or move to uninhabited islands that US held in Pacific
      3. Three Mile Island (1973): explosion at nuclear plant in NJ, leaked radiation into surrounding area, raised fears of nuclear winter, cancers
    2. pollution: saw smog and dirtiness in some areas, many worried over its influence on their health.
      1. First Earth Day (1970) observed under Nixon’s presidency–over 20 million Americans participated, which helped raise consciousness about the long-term as well as short term consequences of pollution
      2. Popularized concept of ecology: recycling programs, renewable energy sources, environmental protection and EPA, protecting endangered species, cleaning up toxic areas, reducing industrial pollution, etc.
    3. Industrial Contamination:
      1. Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring brought the dangers of the pesticide DDT to national attention. Had been seen as wonderful new pesticide by farmers and particularly citrus growers in Florida and California. Her research demonstrated the long-term results of DDT for many plant and animal species, as the product did not biodegrade as had been thought. Led to some bans in US, especially CA and FL where most used, because of severe damage to wildlife and natural resources.
      2. Recognition of the connection between illnesses and pollution, particularly cancers and rare genetic diseases and deformities. Many areas around the country made attempts to clean up or, where it was really bad, move. Little government intervention as had other concerns. Lawsuits emerge in the 1980s in which victims of industrial pollutants sued corporations from compensation and to stop further incursions on the environment.
  2. Women’s Liberation or Women’s Rights Movement
    1. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (1963): raised questions about women’s issues and her proscribed role in American society
      1. questioned women’s roles and men’s
      2. voiced need for education and development outside the home
      3. argued that the American culture was smothering women’s sense of self/identity and abilities
    2. National Organization of Women (NOW): (1966) beginning of the conservative movement to push feminism, attainment of equality of gender; split in movement as radical feminism emerged which said that women were oppressed rather than just “discontented”
    3. Women’s activist movement
      1. policy of “Consciousness raising“:
        1. called attention to all male-organizations such as men’s clubs (much business was conducted in these locations which prevented businesswomen from competing) and discrimination against women in professional careers
        2. promoted health collectives and day-care centers
        3. founded abortion counseling services
        4. demonstrated against advertisements portraying women as sex objects
        5. achieved TITLE 9: banned sex discrimination in educational activities and programs (under Civil Rights Act of 1964)
      2. women both benefited and were hurt by sexual liberation/revolution
        1. Though a debate rages to this day over these issues, overall benefits were right of preventing pregnancy through birth control pills and legal abortion; negative is abuses of abortions and birth control which was not failsafe nor protect against disease. Some of those who opposed these issues are Pro-Life advocates who believe the life of the unborn child needs to be protected with variations on the hows and whys and certain religions such as Catholicism which—officially—practice the rhythm method versus chemical intervention to prevent pregnancy.
          1. birth control pill mass produced in 1960s, also Intrauterine Devices (IUDs)
          2. Roe v. Wade (1973)- upheld laws which allows abortions of fetus within first trimester of pregnancy nationally, other laws and restrictions remand to the state authority where traditionally all laws on this issue are made
        2. Opened discussion of sexuality yet limits respect for the same at times, less mystery and more mundane
          1. emerge dichotomy and animosity between “do-gooder” virginity/monogamy vs liberated exploration promiscuity–where to balance?
          2. Most Americans, especially older, responded that it was moral decay, saw growing conservatism to defend traditional values
        3. Women’s dress and behavior is altered but also saw rise in popularity of men’s magazines portraying women as sex objects. Some camps argue that female nudity and sexual positioning in men’s magazines such as Hustler and Playboy (two of the earliest “men’s magazines”) empowers women but a very fine line, this argument is largely used to justify sexual portrayals of women in the guise of “liberation” or “celebration” of the female form which in fact have little to do with pure aesthetics versus sexual prurience.
    4. Women’s movement revitalized by 1970s: push for legal changes in sex discrimination on national level, many states did so
      1. Formation of Ms. Magazine and influence of individuals like Gloria Steinembrought overwhelming response in US. Many were professional women working outside the home though there was an element in the home working who also saw it as a call to arms.
      2. Not all women responded well, some conservatives and women such as Phyllis Schlafly led the fight against women’s Lib as an affront to traditional families and female power in the home
      3. Equal Rights Amendment: women had been agitating for the ERA since 1920 but it always failed to pass Congress. Did pass both houses in the 1970s and was sent to the states for ratification but with a 7 year deadline—the time limit was a serious shift as no limitations had ever been placed on the amendment process in the past so there were some doubts as to its validity
        1. fundamentally, the ERA makes sex discrimination subject to the highest level of scrutiny under the law. This means that it is considered a major offense and requires less proof of guilt. Ex. Race is currently more important in discrimination cases because of this line of distinction in the legal code whereas discrimination based on sexual identity (primarily here it means male versus female rather than the various transgender affiliations) is generally considered less legitimate and requires a higher level of irrefutable proof
        2. Right now, regardless of the mandate for the 7 year limit, the ERA is 3 states shy of passing; technically the American states could still ratify it
          and add it to the constitution but impetus has died off. WHY?

          1. Schlafly: led fight against ERA in the 1970s saying it would undermine all gains of women, remove her right to be supported by a husband, lead to unisex bathrooms (a real invasion of privacy as many saw it in the 1970s, a view which still pervades today despite the many changes to social acceptability in the intervening years), women serving in the military as combatants, etc.
          2. ERA was a threat to traditional society and to the upswing in conservatism of the late 1970s. Lobbied many states to prevent ERA.
        3. Where this would lead is uncertain, but many now see it at a somewhat dead issue as many states have made changes and affirmative action was thought to have made real change
        4. In my opinion, affirmative action for women—while useful and necessary in many ways—appears in the long run to be exchanging one method of protective legislation for another–still not changing the system/society itself. Protective legislation (remember that from the 1890s and the progressive movement?) sought to create a special status and protections under the law for women, beyond rules applied to men. In very real ways, affirmative action legislation which evolved during the period as a substitute for the ERA, which truly grants total equality under the law regardless of gender, has created a new set of restrictions for women which has yet to break down the barriers of sexual discrimination and the “glass ceiling.” In the present day, women are held to an almost impossible standard, which demands public work while devaluing private work (specifically childcare and mothering). The contradictory roles and unrealistic expectations of the female gender often pits women against one another while failing to resolve or recognize the important role of mothers—whether “Stay At Home Moms” or “Working” Mothers—as viable contributors to the growth and development of America’s economy/stability. So, the Women’s Liberation Movement certainly achieved some changes but society still has not reconciled the altered role of women, their needs, and their contributions to the public and private spheres.
  3. Gay Liberation and the acknowledgement of homosexuality
    1. openly gay and lesbian persons and couples were not something new, a thriving culture identified as such lived in residential pockets throughout America’s larger cities (New York and San Francisco among others) since the 1920s
    2. WWII and the 1940s had more national awareness of homosexuality partly because known homosexuals served in military (though these men were
      generally dishonorably discharged based on this status as homosexual behavior or public acknowledgement of being gay in the service was a violation of the military code of justice, which exists outside the boundaries of the Bill of Rights). Issues of sexual orientation were largely suppressed during the conformist 1950s. Generally, however, homosexuality was not discussed or openly acknowledged prior to the late 1960s and the 1970s.
    3. Homosexuality was considered immoral and unnatural; most people believed this if they thought about at all—the modern world takes this awareness of homosexuality in stride whereas the 1950s and 1960s were just opening up to the idea of discussing heterosexual orientation and behaviors. For gays and lesbians, the arguments about nature (biology) versus nurture (environment) in the creation of the psyche are later applied in the 1980s. Certainly various religious groups tended to preach against homosexual practice though personal opinion varied widely on this sexual orientation and still does.
    4. Civil Rights movement spurs the gay community to take public visibility to new heights,
      1. raise consciousness about what homosexuality really meant for them, their point of view.
      2. Formation of gay organizations, both for community and legal issues. Support from the ACLU.
      3. US government lifted ban on homosexuals serving in the Diplomatic Corps and Civil Service in 1960s; military service would remain the same until the change to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the 1980s
      4. “Stonewall Riot” (1968): police harassment on gay bar in NYC spurs Gay Liberation Front, this group began to push for change in treatment and to promote change in heterosexual attitudes about homosexuality
      5. more accepting attitudes emerged very slowly, concept of “Coming out of the Closet” emerges in the 1970s but still large element of discrimination against this minority in society
      6. The most current debate is over the right to and legality of homosexual marriage, however, this debate has largely blurred lines between church and state as to whether “marriage” (usually defined in religious terms) versus civil union (official sanction by government agencies) are either the same or subject to different scrutiny and rights under the law.

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