The 1960s had many radical movements. Several of those movements can be found in the phrase “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll.” The phrase is used in a variety of contexts. In fact, my high school English teacher had one simple rule for her journal prompts: “write about whatever you like, just as long as you are not writing about sex, drugs and Rock & Roll.” The phrase can be broken down to its three subject areas that helped influence an entire generation of Baby Boomers. Born between 1946 and 1964, Baby Boomers comprised the teenage and young adult population in the 1960s. With the Industrial Revolution ending, the family units moved from a larger extended family, to what is now known as the “Nuclear Family”. The transition to the nuclear family meant the Baby Boomers would gain more independence and began to explore more of what they wanted as freedom. Through this exploration, the Baby Boomers brought us the Free Love movement, recreational drug use, and Rock & Roll music. The Free Love movement sought the openness of sexuality and exploring one’s sexuality freely. The use of recreational drugs such as marijuana and LSD (an experimental drug used on soldiers in the Vietnam War) had an impact on the Free Love movement allowing for a deeper exploration of the sensuality of sex. LSD, a psychedelic drug, is known for is psychologic effects allowing users to experience an out-of-body “trip”. LSD was used during the Vietnam War to enhance a soldier’s alertness and tactical intelligence on the battlefield. Finally, Rock & Roll, considered the “Devil’s Music” in the 60s, had a significant impact on the Baby Boomers. All three of these movements were significant in the Woodstock Music Festival. While the drugs of choice and genres of music have changed Free Love, recreational drug use, and musical influence all three are equally prevalent and have a continuing influence on the current generation. By examining primary and secondary sources, this essay will inspect each of the three aspects of the Baby Boomer mantra “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll” for their influence on the generation.
Historical Context
Synonymous with the Counterculture Movement, the phrase Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll was coined by the Baby Boomers. Considered to be one of the largest generations, the Baby Boomers comprise almost twenty-five percent of the United States population. The term baby boom comes from the significant increase in births between 1946 and 1964, over 76 million (History.com Staff, 2010). The sheer size of the Baby Boomers made the summation of their movements monumental. Each of these movements was a key component to each other. The Free Love moment was a sexual awakening for hippies, a subculture within the Baby Boomers, that was only strengthened by using marijuana and LSD. In turn, Woodstock (1969) was a festival that celebrated all three of the movements. Originally scheduled to run from August 15th to 17th, but ultimately lasting until the 18th, the four-day music festival attracted an audience of nearly 400,000 people making it the largest music festival of its time. The unexpected turnout for Woodstock prompted Sullivan County to declare a State of Emergency while the Governor of New York had considered sending the National Guard for crowd control.
Sound of the Sixties
As the hippie movement drove west to San Francisco, the capital moved with them. The intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco quickly became the new hippie capital. However, just as quickly as it became the capital, it also became a tourist destination. As the tourists began to flock in by the troves, the hippie community felt that their sanctuary had been invaded. So, they took the hill country of San Francisco and built communes. These communes were the very essence of what the hippie community promoted, sharing. The inhabitants of the communes would share food, clothes. In the CNN documentary, Peter Coyote credits the communes as “the cheapest way to live” (Netflix, 2014). It was the rise of these communes throughout the United States that brought rise to the idea of Woodstock. As many people were driving north on the highways of New York, they began to encounter traffic jams. These were the crowds making their way to Woodstock. Many attendees of Woodstock found this to be a place where they were accepted as among their own because they were outcasts in their own homes and families. Many of the residents of Bethel, NY were apprehensive of the arrival of the vast amounts of hippies. With attendance over 400,000, News Anchor Frank Reynolds, credits the lack of rioting at Woodstock to be more significant than the festival itself. When Woodstock concluded, many of the local farmers and inns continued to feed the visitors because of their surprising friendliness. The unexpected friendliness of the visitors was a notion toward the positivity of the counterculture movement.
The Stoned Age
After writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey volunteered for Project MK Ultra (the LSD Experiments at Stanford University). Lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, is a psychedelic drug. The intention of the LSDs creation was to combat migraines and depression. However, it was found to trigger “a change in mental state, closely resembling insanity” (YouTube, 2012). In footage of a 1950s housewife, she is asked “how do you feel inside?” and she replies “… everything is one. I am one with what I am. I can see everything in color. You have to see the air” (YouTube, 2012). Similarly, when Kesey was given LSD, he claimed the experience to be beautiful. Many believe this is what triggered the beginning of the counterculture movement, as many sought to experience what Kesey had. One hour from San Francisco, Kesey created a drug commune in La Honda. This was a place where artists and followers of Kesey would gather to for group trips on LSD. Out of this commune, Tom Wolfe would write The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test in which Wolfe chronicles the followings of Kesey who was hailed as a Christ figure during the counterculture movement. Kesey’s followers were known as his “Merry Band of Pranksters” and as they ventured east in a converted school bus, they created parties known as “Acid Tests.” This was an effort to get everyone to try LSD hoping that everyone would be able to share the experience. Kesey would then ask The Warlocks to perform at the Acid Test. Later, The Warlocks changed their name to The Grateful Dead. Many bands embraced this and began to incorporate it into their lyrics; with more and more wanting to experience what Kesey had experienced, the true counterculture was born.
Free Love Movement
Approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use only in severe menstrual disorders in 1957 and approved for contraceptive use in 1960, “The Pill” marked the true sexual revolution and beginning of the Free Love Movement. In a country that did not believe in intercourse before marriage, the pill quickly became the number one form of birth control. By 1965, just five years after FDA approval as a contraceptive, more than 6.5 million women were on the pill (Nikolchev, 2010). The pill allowed women to take control of their bodies, the pill began a sexual revolution where the puritan ideals of their parents were set aside for self-discovery and love. One woman says, “if you love somebody, if you want to make love to somebody, then you should” (Netflix, 2014). Without the worry of pregnancy, women were finally able to take part in all that the counterculture had to offer.
|
Time Magazine cover featuring "The Pill" / Time
|
Rare footage of 1950's housewife on LSD (Full Version) / YouTube
|
The use of marijuana and LSD during the 60s sets forth means for an even deeper exploration of love and sex. LSD is a hallucinogenic drug that alters the users state of mind. As seen is Kesey’s MK Ultra trial and the video of the housewife, there was a sense of euphoria the user feels when the drugs take effect in the nervous system. In the clip of Kesey during the LSD trials, he begins to cry and the interviewer asks Kesey if “[he would consider it a beautiful experience].” Kesey replies “I would say yes” (Netflix, 2014). Unable to describe how the experience was beautiful, Kesey continues in this state of euphoria. As the counterculture movement began to grow and women became more open about their bodies and their sexuality, women began using LSD to enter the euphoric state during their sexual experiences. While Kesey’s Acid Test parties were not envisioned to lead the party-goers to have sex with one another, they did act as means facilitate the connection between each other. When you gather some youngsters together, give them drugs, lights, and “hip” music in a subculture exploring their sexuality, there is only one thing that can ensue. While the pill allowed women to be open about their sexuality, the men could be open about theirs as well. Not only a revolution for the men, the homosexual awakening was a man’s sexual revolution. In the 60s, sodomy was still illegal in all 50 states and homosexuality was considered a mental illness rather than a legitimate sexuality. However, places like the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, NY gave gay men an outlet and a place to be open about their sexuality.
|
Conclusion
Even as the 60s came to an end, the philosophy of leading a pleasing life did not. Remnants of the 60’s counterculture movement can be seen in today’s Millennials, the hippies of the 21st century. Many believe music festivals such as Larry Joe Taylor’s Texas Music Festival (Stephenville, TX), Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas, NV), Austin City Limits (Austin, TX), and many more are thought to be the Millennial’s reinvention of Woodstock. While the drugs of choice have shifted from LSD to Cocaine, Molly (MDMA or Ecstasy), and even cough syrup, there is still a strong presence of drugs and pharmaceuticals in the music realm today. The sexual revolution of the early and mid-60s didn’t come without consequences. With the rise of sexuality and the openness the boomers sought, there was also an influx of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). These STDs included HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis, and herpes. Because these young adults were having unprotected sex, the transmission of STDs was on the rise. It wasn’t until 1965 that sexual education was proposed to be curriculum in schools. The 60s brought us the pill, 2016 brought us PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). PrEP is an anti-HIV medication used primarily in same-sex sexual encounters and leads to a new age sexual revolution for gay men. Even as the boomers age and enter their 50s and 60s, their sexual revolution continues with sexual aides like Viagra. And as our youth continue to develop and grow, the effects of the counterculture movement continue to influence every generation.
|
60s Dance Party / Google
|