Society Flashcards
(4 cards)
1
Q
Feminism in the 1970s and what improved for women?
A
- The 1970s saw the peak of a second-wave feminism
- Women’s Liberation groups sprang up around the UK and demonstrations were held in London and Liverpool in March 1971
- The pill was available through the NHS in the same year
- The Sex Discrimination Act was passed in 1975 and the Qualities Opportunities Commission was established.
- The Equal Pay Act came into force in 1975 and paid maternity leave was also introduced
- The first Rape Crisis centre opened in London 1976
- Domestic Violence Act (1976) made it possible to take out court orders against violent partners and ‘Reclaim the Night’ marches were held in 1977 as a result of the Yorkshire Ripper murders
- By 1977 women’s wages were 70% of men’s (an increase from 59% in 1970)
2
Q
What was Race and Immigration like in the 1970s?
A
- The Immigration Act 1971 restricted the rights of people from the New Commonwealth from coming to Britain
- By 1974, 325,000 people had come from the West Indies, 435,000 from India and Pakistan and, 150,000 from Africa
- Despite the passing of the 1976 Race Relations Act in an attempt to tackle racism and discrimination the National Front became very active in Brick Lane and Southall
- A huge demonstration was held in 1978 as a reaction against racism but by 1980 the Commission for Racial Equality warned that ‘racial prejudice is still rife, and so is racial discrimination’.
3
Q
What was the Youth Culture like in the 1970s?
A
- Youth culture continued to concern older generations
- The Punk movement started in 1975 and much of its philosophy was nihilistic, reflecting the social alienation that many young people felt
- Skinheads developed from Mod culture at the end of the 1960s but some were becoming increasingly linked to the National Front and football hooliganism, known as ‘the English disease’.
4
Q
What was environmentalism like in the 1970s?
A
- A counter culture of the rejection of consumerism and commercialisation sprug up and became a concern
- Greenpeace UK was established in 1977 and violent attacks on pharmaceutical laboratories were carried out by a range of protesters from 1973 onwards
- The Animal Liberation Front, formed in 1976, adopted extreme violence
