1965: The Dawn of Our Current Age

From Crisis:

The era of protest also heralded the youth rebellion. Seen in a more limited way for the first time in American history in the 1920s, it was a much more widespread phenomenon in the 1960s. Right after 1965, it erupted.

Indeed, it was in 1965 that the counterculture emerged. At the beginning of that year, hardly anyone had heard of it. By 1966, it was splashed all over. Suddenly, the hippies, Haight-Ashbury, the new “non-conformism,” and spreading illicit drug use became engrained in the national consciousness. After 1965, the “look” of the counterculture was evident everywhere, as the standard conservative dress and appearance—especially among the young—metamorphosed into long hair, beards, and dress for women that would have been unthinkably provocative before. The mini-skirt made its appearance in America in 1966, reflecting in some sense a relaxed sexual attitude. It was a veritable fashion revolution. It also was in 1965, Patterson tells us, that we saw for the first time partial nudity in a mainstream movie and a major pop music hit that featured sexual suggestiveness. After that, the floodgates opened. (Read more.)

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