90s - Social Issues

Question 1

What did Majors back to basics speech reflect?

Answer 1

A period of time where there was substantial changes in society which people found disturbing. This was a somewhat socially conservative period but over the decade Britain became much more socially liberal/

Question 2

How did attitudes to homosexuality change in the 80s?

Answer 2

Negative attitudes reached a peak in 1987 due to the identification of AIDS. The first UK case was in 1981 and it was referred to as a ‘gay plague’.

Question 3

What were Loony Left councils accused of in reference to homosexuality, and how was this dealt with?

Answer 3

Accused of promoting homosexual lifestyles by funding support groups.
Section 28 banned the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities in 1988. Many people believed that made it illegal to discuss homosexuality in schools.

Question 4

What did Princess Diana do in 1987?

Answer 4

Challenged popular prejudices about AIDS and homosexuality by shaking hands with an AIDS patient, helping to destigmatise AIDS patients.

Question 5

What was the pressure group Outrage! ?

Answer 5

They used direct action, threatening ‘out’ gay clergy and MPs. They backed legal cases at the European Court of Human Rights, challenging the unequal age of consent and ban on homosexuality in the military.

Question 6

What was the outcome of Outrage! ?

Answer 6

The reduction in age of consent for gay men was reduced from 21 to 18, and then to 16 in 2000 when homosexuality was also allowed in the military.

Question 7

What did the British Social Attitudes Survey find about attitudes towards homosexuality?

Answer 7

In 1987 75% of adults believed it was wrong, in 1998 only 50% thought it was wrong.

Question 8

What did family campaigners fear in the 1990s?

Answer 8

The future of marriage - divorce rates hit record highs and % of babies born out of wedlock went from 12% in the early 80s to 30% in the early 90s.

Question 9

What was the Child Support Agency set up in response to?

Answer 9

Peter Lilley’s song to the Cons party where he said that young ladies get pregnant to jump the housing queue, and dads don’t support their children.
The Child Support Agency was set up in 1993 to ensure absent parents paid maintenance for their children.

Question 10

What campaign did Victoria Gillick lead?

Answer 10

Concern about under-age sex was rising, so Gillick campaigned against the availability of contraceptive advice to girls under 16 without their parents knowledge.

Question 11

What was the outcome of Gillick’s campaign?

Answer 11

The high court ruled that this advice could only be given with parental consent, but this was later overturned by the House of Lords.

Question 12

What was Mary Whitehouse’s work?

Answer 12

She coined the phrase ‘video nasty’ and influenced the passing of the Video Recording Act in 1994 which ensured videos had British film classifications attached.

Question 13

How did the changing attitude towards the royal family reflect a general decline in deference to the Establishment?

Answer 13

1987-1997 was a difficult time, 3/4 of the Queens children got divorced and details of extramarital affairs were public.
This can be seen in the disquiet over the financing of the Windsor Castle regeneration in 1992. The debate led to the Queen agreeing to pay tax on private income and reduction in the civil list.

Question 14

What was the peak of anti-monarchist opinions?

Answer 14

Post-Dianas death in 1997, the Queen was accused of not caring while the rest of the country was in mourning.

Question 15

How can we see anti-establishment culture in the arts?

Answer 15

The Young British Artists, led by Hirst, challenged what art was by using dead animals or ephemeral detritus.

Question 16

How did Youth culture challenged the establishment?

Answer 16

In the late 1980s acid house arrived from the USA, and 1988 - 89 have been named the ‘Second Summer of Love’, and linked to MDMA usage.

Question 17

What was the government response to changing youth culture?

Answer 17

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 - gave the power to the police to break up free parties. Rave music was defined as ‘sounds characterised by the succession of repetitive beats’.

Question 18

What were the environmental protests at the time?

Answer 18

The Twyford Down M3 extension caused a series of road protests, including the Newbury bypass and M11 link road. Protestors would climb and chain themselves to trees and build a tunnel and live underground.

Question 19

What was third-wave feminism?

Answer 19

Broader than just legal and financial equalities, including more emphasis on breaking down female stereotypes of race, gender and sexuality.

Question 20

Who were the Huggy Bears?

Answer 20

A punk rock bank who sang about feminine issues.

Question 21

How did the Spice Girls help the feminist movement?

Answer 21

They brought the message of girl power mainstream.

Question 22

What was Thatcher’s relationship with feminism?

Answer 22

Geri Halliwell, a Spice Girl, called Thatcher ‘the First Lady of Girl power’ but critics argue she did nothing for women in power with only 1 female minister and no campaigning. This is because of her do-it-yourself attitude.

Question 23

Which important government positions were filled by women in 1992?

Answer 23

Speaker of the House of Commons and Head of MI5.

Question 24

When was the first ordination of women as priests?

Answer 24

1994

Question 25

When was rape in marriage classed as a criminal offence?

Answer 25

1994

Question 26

By 1993, how many working-age women were in employment?

Answer 26

68%

Question 27

In the 1987 General Election, how many non-white MPs were elected?

Answer 27

4, the most since 1920.

Question 28

What case study exemplified the relationship between young black men and the police?

Answer 28

Stephen Lawrence, an A-levels student was murdered by a gang of white youths at a bus stop in SE London. The identity of the youths was known, but the CPS didn’t have sufficient evidence t arrest. The police were largely criticised for failing to investigate, and their assumption that Stephen was in the wrong.

Question 29

What was the 1998 MacPherson report?

Answer 29

It found that in the case of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, the Metropolitan police had been incompetent and ‘institutionally racist’.

Question 30

What was there a sharp increase of in the 1990s?

Answer 30

The number of asylum seekers coming from Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Question 31

What case study exemplifies concerns about Muslim integration into British society?

Answer 31

Indian author Rushdie published a novel, The Satanic Verses which was considered blasphemous and condemned by Muslim heads of state. Some British Muslims accepted that publishing the book was just acceptable in British culture.

Question 32

What did Alwyn W Turner argue?

Answer 32

The 1990s were heavily influenced by the social liberalism of the 1960s. He claims this is because the children of the 1960s were now the people in power in the 1990s.