The 1960's : a period of change for women
Hello, everyone !
We talked about the 60's in English class and I wanted to approach the subject as well.
As you already know, the 60's were a real revolution in every way : singers expressing their feelings in the lyrics of their songs, TV available for everyone, women's new fashion style... They put an end to the old-fashioned Establishment and allowed people to reach freedom, espacially for women. And that's precisely what I want to talk about today. Cause the 60's were also linked to women's freedom and independence in their lifestyle choices.
Indeed, more and more women entered the workforce, putting an end to the "women have to say at home, take care of the children and serve their husb- blablabla" (not interesting enough to finish this sentence) cliché. Therefore, that's when they realised they deserved better than the way they used to be treated by the society and decided to demonstrate in the streets against gender and financial discrimination, sexual harassment, domestic violence, etc... Though the movement wasn't exaclty new (it started during the 50's), the 60's were at the very heart of their struggle with the second American Feminist Movement from the 60's to the 70's.
The 60's also made a change for women's fashion.
Famous models like Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton encouraged women to set themselves free and dress they way they wanted : mini-skirts, pants, short hair... Women were not afraid anymore to wear the clothes they liked.
If rock 'n' roll is an important anc iconic element of the 1960's counterculture, songs being linked to the pyschedelic movement and dealing with a lot of new topics (drugs), music served the cause of women's independence as well :
Just Because I'm a Woman, Dolly Parton, 1968 : https://youtu.be/lz_ejQbDoS0$
You Don't Own Me, Lesley Gore, 1963 : https://youtu.be/JDUjeR01wnU
If the struggle is far from being over (no matter how unbelievable it might be, inequalities still exist today between men and women), we owe these ladies so much as they allowed us to keep progressing, keep moving on and, most of all, keep fighting for our rights.
As en exemple, the Australian singer Grace has made a cover of Lesley Gore's songs You Don't Own Me in 2015 featuring the American rapper G-Eazy : https://youtu.be/8SeRU_ZPDkE
Hopefully, one day, we'll be able to eradicate any kind of discrimination and not just women's.
Thanks for reading, see u in 2 weeks !