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These are some things that might come to mind when you think about the counterculture movement of the sass. But although it may seem that way, the sass was not just one giant party. It was a radical social, political, and cultural movement that changed America and much of the Western world. It consisted of students, anti-war protestors, political figures, social activists, environmentalists, civil rights movement leaders as well as famous musicians and was a movement rooted in the desire for change.
Many factors contributed to the causes of this movement, and being such a radical and popular movement, there are also many lingering effects. This essay will investigate two major long term effects of this monumental movement. The two effects of which will be discussing are the increased widespread use of illicit drugs, and the sexual revolution. Such an influential and powerful movement could not have gone without changing the thoughts and opinions of many, and the counterculture of the 1 sass did just that.
In a time where people gathered for “three days of peace love and use at the Woodstock Festival in 1 969, many of these “hippies” often indulged in drugs and alcohol (Law). During the sixties, the group of casual LSI users in the hippie culture expanded into a subculture that advocated the drugs use as a method of raising consciousness. While psychologist and writer Dry.
Timothy Leary brought to light the effects of these hallucinogenic drugs, psychedelic rock musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Jim Hendrix, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and the Beetles gave them quite a bit of publicity, increasing public interest in psychedelic drugs such as LSI, psilocybin, and Mescaline (“The Counterculture of the sass”). This increased popularity and use of psychedelic drugs as well as recreational drugs such as Marijuana resulted in the widespread drug use that is often associated with the hippie culture and counterculture movement.
The widespread use of recreational and psychedelic drugs in the 1 sass during the counterculture movement is what has resulted in the steady increase of illicit drug users since that time period. Since the sass, the amount of Americans that have tried Marijuana has increased tenfold. At a mere 4 percent in 1969, the percentage of Americans who admit they have smoked Marijuana at least once in their life is now 42% (Lynch). This is due to the counterculture movement’s ideas of “expanding consciousness” and “turn on, tune in, drop out. These ideals have spilled over into seceding generations. If a parent was a hippie, part of the counterculture, and was at the Woodstock Festival of 1969, catching their child smoking Marijuana becomes less of a catastrophe. The more families there are like this, the more using recreational drugs becomes less significant. When you add all these factors together, it results in the increase in illicit drug use that weve seen over the past 50 years. Another lingering effect Of this powerful counterculture movement is the sexual revolution.
Along with rock music and widespread drug use, another thing that hippies and their counterculture movement promoted was sexual freedom. During this time, increased support of the civil rights movement, feminist movement, and the gay liberation movement resulted in an increased acceptance of sex outside of traditional heterosexual, monogamous relationships. Also, the sexual revolution resulted in the production and spike in popularity of oral contraception, Duds, and diaphragms as well as abortion.
The first birth control pill, Envied, went on the market in 1960. Unlike any other previous form of contraception, the pill was both reliable and controlled by the woman herself, requiring neither the consent nor the knowledge of her sexual partner (Cohen). The invention and sale of the pill resulted in a radical change in American women. Instead of a major focus on virginity, marriage, and traditional morals, the focus of the American woman shifted to independence, celebration of single life, and sexual exploration.
The counterculture led to the exposure of radical social and cultural change that paved the way for the sexual revolution. The sexual revolution shaped the ideals we have today about women’s sexuality and homosexuality, pre-marital sexuality, and the freedom of sexual expression (“People & Events: The Pill”). At the end of the day, we can still see some Of the lingering effects of one of the most powerful cultural movements in the history of mankind. What was once looked at as immoral, anarchistic, and evolutionary was actually one of the greatest and most influential movements in history.
The effects of the counterculture movement of the sass can be felt in everyday life here in the United States of America and around the world. Although the movement did have negative effects on society, it resulted in some of the most radical cultural and social changes man has ever seen. It has helped to shape society into what it is today and form the opinions of many of the generations that came after it. The counterculture has helped to make me the person I am today and think it ill continue to influence generations to come.