Born in the 50s and coming of age in the 60s and 70s, shaped the lives of millions of boomers like no generation before. The seductive landscape of unprecedented social and moral liberation transformed society forever. I actually hadn’t given that era much thought until I started to research it. It’s jaw-dropping just how significant those times and events were. From the 1960s to the 1970s our norms of behavior changed dramatically and what once was forbidden and sanctimonious was swiftly emancipated. Sex before marriage and living common-law became the norm; behind closed doors–masturbation, erotic fantasies and sex toys created a stir; and the closet door on homosexuality started to squeak open.
The Feminist Movement freed the bowels of society acknowledging women’s equality and redefining sexuality. Fuelled by lingering shreds of Victorian prudings – these good and not so good vibrations laid everything bare, leaving us to make sense of it all. The advent of The Pill, improved antibiotics and reliable condoms permitted the x-rated excitation of the mind, heart and loins of our youth. Along with it came the mainstreaming of pornography, progressive permissiveness, flurry of drugs and the free love generation. Who knew, we were living in the Sexual Revolution? The 60s also marked the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, racial unrest, the Viet Nam War, riots (Selma, Kent State, Stonewall) and sit-ins. Our generation fought fearlessly for civil rights, quality, justice and care of our planet. My Teenage Years Looking back on my teenage years at an all-girls Catholic high school, I was cocooned from many of the movements occurring in society. My very strict religious upbringing and defined expectations of how I was to live my life, limited my exposure to some of these realities. Despite these parameters my psyche was trying to deal with hormones, sexual awakenings, querying how far would I ‘go’ and was an orgasm really that electric. Today, my four sisters and I often remark that we are surprised we turned out sexually balanced, given the norms of our parents’ generation. I recall my high school years at St. Joseph’s Convent School as being very hopeful. The nuns instilled a strong belief in us; we could aspire to be anything, do anything and make a difference in the world. They encouraged us to take our rightful place in society as strong and capable women. I also recall learning the meaning of 69, the difference between a good girl and a nice girl, a dildo, S&M and a BJ. Pornography I know that every generation before us dealt with teenage sexual thoughts and feelings – but they didn’t grow up with the carnal knowledge that danced on the movie screen before our hungry eyes – nudity, anal sex, LSD trips and images of forbidden lovers as portrayed in the following films: • Blow-up (1966, Vanessa Redgrave) • Mondo Topless (1966, Babette Bardot) • Barbarella (1968, Jane Fonda) • Deep Throat (1972, John Holmes, known for his exceptionally large penis) • Last Tango in Paris (1972, Marlon Brando) • Debbie Does Dallas (1978, Bambi Woods) Rock’n Roll Paralleling the thrust of the silver screen was the explosive beat of rock’n roll that bolted onto our TV screens, captured our living rooms and pulsated through every bone and muscle of our young bodies In 2014, the PBS Network chronicled the music of the 60s in Ed Sullivan’s Rock ‘n Roll Classics. My family would never miss The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday night. I can just see Ed introducing the Beatles “Here on our stage, for all the youngsters in Canada and the US, straight from Manchester, England – The Beatles!” My parents were appalled by their long hair and suggestive music—so much so that I wasn’t even allowed to do the twist. I think they were afraid that we would become hippies and become embroiled in the bohemian sub-culture of Yorkville, Toronto. Today, as I listen to the music of the 60s and 70s, it makes me feel brand new again. It vibrates within my very soul of hope, energy and idealism and takes me back to a time when I thought I could do and be whatever I desired. Music is like going on a magic carpet through the canyons of my mind. It evokes place, time, emotion and people—it unites all of us. I fondly recall the excitement of a young’s girl’s heart—going to a Michael Power Street dance and carelessly swinging to the Staccatos, The Association and Mandela. Did you meet some sweet pimpled guy, on a starry starry night at The Kee-to-Bala, The Pav in Orillia or Hidden Valley, Huntsville and flirtatiously move to the beat of The Turtles or Lighthouse? Tell me about it. What an iconic time eh! The beat goes on… the beat goes on and the spirit of the Sexual Revolution beats inside of our hearts and minds today. We were once hard rockers but we’re not in the rocking chair yet! Please take a moment to share your memories of those crazy, hazy days—your first kiss, first love, first heartbreak etc. Why does the Sexual Revolution still matter to you?