Positive Influence of Hippies on Canadian Society in the 1960s.

Canada as a nation has been striving to characterize itself as more ?Canadian? for decades. This has included numerous struggles and events such as protests, bans, and the creation of the Massey Commission, to encourage national development in the arts, and support major companies like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and National Film Board (NFB). However, this has not been an easy task for the Canadian government, as major influences from below the border (the United States) have been captivating the Canadian audiences by large. American media has had a momentous revolutionizing effect on Canada, even through efforts made to define Canada with its own cultural identity.

The hippies, hand in hand with college students, helped stop an unjust, costly, and deathly war in Vietnam. The hippies had the courage to speak out for the 67% of Americans that were opposed to the war. An anti-war movement not unlike the Vietnam protests has progressed over the past two years against the War in Iraq. March 20, 2003 was a national day of protest with over 25 million protesting the worldwide-disapproved occupation of Iraq. Seven-hundred were arrested in Chicago as the protesters marched on Lake Shore Drive. NION (Not in Our Name) is a prominent organization formed

The second-wave feminism has been the driving force behind the Women’s Liberation Movement, which is synonymous within the twenty years in the later part of the twentieth century, beginning in 1960 and ending in 1980. The movement, in the past, had an impact on various aspects of social life to men and women; and this impact is still showcased in areas including, but not limited to; women’s health, fertility trends, laws and legislations, personal believes and religious discussions, interpersonal relationships and family roles, feminist issues, and gender relations.

To the question “Why the Woman Rebel?” Sanger wrote “Because I believe that deep down in woman’s nature lies slumbering the spirit of revolt” and “Because I believe that through the efforts of individual revolution will woman’s freedom emerge”. Both highlight how birth control was not a mere technique to personal freedom, but an avenue to power. These quotes emphasize Sanger’s belief that the birth control pill would unleash the spirit of freedom amongst women. She did not argue for the open distribution of contraceptive to promote personal freedom. However, she believed that limitation on family size would free women from the dangers of childbearing and give them the opportunity to become active outside the home. In addition, Document 1 acknowledges birth control’s ability to bring about radical social class change. Sanger includes her belief that women are “enslaved by the world machine…middle-class morality”. Her idea of social change not only involved embracing the liberation of woman, but also the working class. It is believed that the birth control campaign succeeded as it became “a movement by and for the middle class”. Birth control provided middle-class women the opportunity to plan families without the stress of balancing growing expenses for a child that was not planned for. In The Woman Rebel Sanger introduces birth control’s larger mission of power and opportunity for women while incorporating the basis of social class.

“Hippies were called Flower Children because they gave flowers to communicate gentleness and love” (Salge). The Hippie Movement was a popular counter culture during the 60’s-70’s. Hippies are best known for their practice of psychedelic drug use, interesting political views, where they took up living quarters, and their unique fashion sense.

Although societies with rigorous rules such as the ancient Greeks practiced the use of birth control and the invention of modern contraceptive methods---such as condoms, diaphragms, and douches---have been around since the early 1800’s, birth control still did not prevail in the twentieth century and was highly controversial. Margaret Sanger gave people a new and radical ideology stating how birth control helped women in many more ways than their sexuality. Sanger published many literature pieces about her opinions on options and freedom for women in society. Several other women and doctors acknowledged her argument by broadcasting it during the Progressive Era. When the 1920’s came around,

“A wider freedom is coming to the women in America” (Foner, Give Me Liberty, 677). An influential figure in the women’s movement was Charlotte Perkins Gilmen who wrote ‘Women and Economics’ in 1898 which set forth and challenged the ideas of gender roles that a women’s life was not to be bound to her husband and children in her home but is to be out in the workplace earning her own wages and be able to experience firsthand, true freedom. In her book, she stated “If that change is for the advantage of individual and the race, we need not fear it”, (Give Me Liberty, 710). Another shift in the women’s era was the idea and use of birth control for women. Social reformer Margaret Sanger advocated for the right for women to be able to enjoy sexual intercourse without the worry of falling pregnant and provided sex education to those in the urban poor communities. She also gave out contraceptives to poor immigrants but was later jailed for corrupting the minds of women with the birth-control movement. Having or not having children was an issue for all women regardless of social status, it brought together women part of the poor, middle and upper class economic society. Women could work but having a child made it more difficult for the women to do so, thus the birth control movement gave women so many more options than just being a wife and mother. They can now go pursue their careers, enjoy their

Born to a socialist father who was also an early advocate of women’s suffrage, from him Margaret Sanger inherited her political pluck. This woman spent her life helping women take control of their own bodies and be educated; she is responsible for the plight of women in being able to reversibly prevent pregnancy through the use of a drug she pushed to get created known as “The Pill”. Margaret Sanger was over 80 years old when the first pills became available and by the end of the 1960’s there were many millions of women using the new form of birth control even though the Catholic Church and some states considered it vulgar and obscene and outlawed the use in preventing pregnancy. Ultimately this progressive change in thought and culture to women being able to control their own fertility and therefore be able to work outside the home; this also created a counter culture “sexual revolution” where women felt freer to express their own sexuality without the fear of becoming pregnant – while others saw this a moral decay of individuals and family. Conclusively the majority of people are happy with the results of Margaret Sanger work to provide women with a safe and healthy choice in preventing pregnancy but other are happy that only part of her philosophies were adopted by

During the second wave the pill was not the only aspect to influence second wave feminism. The protests at the Miss America Pageants were also monumental to the movement. The Miss America Pageants had been receiving tough criticism for year from feminists. The pageants

In the latter half of the 1960's, America has already been swept by an unparalleled wave of activism. From the Civil Rights Movement to the Free Speech Movement, Americans from across the country began tuned into the nation's political pulse. It was from these earlier movements that the Counterculture and the Antiwar Movements proceeded. Sometimes viewed as tearing the unity of America, these movements actually protested and combated the rigidity of American society as well as the ever-increasing encroachment of the United States government (in their lives and the world). Their actions lead to increased social awareness of the nation's state of affairs and the importance of self determination.

They were looking for sunshine and hot weather where they could exercise a lighter lifestyle far from the pressures of the formalities of the German clubs, as mentioned in the book The Hippies, Sam Binkley (2002), they were "Der Wanderwogel", also known as "the migratory bird" and advocated a communal way of life integrated with nature, amateur music and alternative clothes as form of expression . The hippie movement in the U.S. came about as a reaction to the excess of violence and materialistic motivations that dominated the society during the Sixties, period of political and economic tension known as the Cold War, the political and ideological confront between capitalism, mainly represented by the United States, and Socialism, represented by the Soviet

Many women weren’t informed well as minorities of women were due to their circumstance of income. Because of this, many poor women were using birth controls such as Lysol that eventually prevented them from having children when they wanted or killed them due to poisoning. Due to this movement, women still struggled with discrimination and low

What was the hippie movement? The Hippie Movement began in the 1960s and was very influential on American politics, law and everyday life. The movement originated on colleges in the united states. Hippies were usually young people who wore sandals and had long hair. They often adopted vegetarian diets based on unprocessed foods. Hippies were often not directly engaged in politics.

After women won the right to vote, the second wave of feminism began in the 1960s and continued on to the 90’s. This wave was highly associated with the anti-war and civil rights movement and the movement started growing conscious to a variety of minority groups all over the world. Out of three waves, the second wave’s voice was increasingly radical and theoretical as sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues. Protest began in Atlantic City in 1968 and 1969 against the Miss America Pageant. Many activists thought it to be a degrading “cattle parade” that reduced women to only objects produced by the patriarchy. Along with fighting against sexism in cartoons and politics, second wave feminists found their voice among other movements such as Civil Rights and the Anti-War movement. While the first wave was fought by middle class white women, the second wave invited and incorporated women of color and developing nations demonstrating that race, class, and gender oppression were all related and seeking sisterhood and solidarity (Rampton).

The emergence of alternative cultures and movements during the 1960s were remarkably distinctive in which it contributed to the overall characteristics of the 1960s America. In particular, the hippie counter-culture was developed and it was popular amongst the younger Americans because they believed in peace. They wanted to live differently and wanted to be free from the mainstream society. In the film Easy Rider, it portrayed the hippie culture and at the same time, it portrayed the rejection of the culture by the Americans in the 1960s. Hippie culture and other movements alike were the reactions to the changes in society and political atmosphere in the 1960s.The film was an excellent film work that captured the characteristics of the