Liberal Society Abd Its Opponents 1951-79 Flashcards
What are liberal values?
In a social context, people with liberal values tolerate or embrace greater individual choice and freedom regarding sexuality, family structures, religious belief, and fashion.
What is Mass Observation?
An academic research organization founded in 1937 that studied the everyday lives of British people through diaries and questionnaires.
What significant societal changes occurred in the 1960s?
The 1960s marked the end of Victorianism and the rise of a more permissive society, leading to a growth in liberal values.
Who is Marie Stopes and what was her contribution?
Marie Stopes was an author whose book ‘Married Love’ published in 1918 challenged the reluctance to discuss sex publicly and argued for women’s enjoyment of sex within marriage.
What concerns arose after the Second World War regarding traditional values?
There were concerns that the war had undermined traditional values by promoting sex outside marriage and encouraging divorce.
What was the impact of Alfred Kinsey’s research?
Kinsey’s 1953 book ‘Sexual Behaviour in the Human Female’ helped undermine moral condemnation of sex before marriage.
What was the significance of the 1959 Obscene Publications Act?
It recognized greater public openness to sexual images and discussions, but only at an elite level.
What did Dr. Alex Comfort’s book ‘The Joy of Sex’ emphasize?
It dealt with sex as a pleasure in its own right rather than solely as part of married life.
What liberalizing laws were passed in Britain between 1959 and 1969?
Laws included the Obscene Publications Act, Suicide Act, Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act, Theatres Act, Sexual Offences Act, Abortion Act, Family Planning Act, and Divorce Reform Act.
What was the source of demand for liberal laws in the 1960s?
Demand came from backbench MPs influenced by long-standing campaigns rather than from the general public.
What did David Steel’s Abortion Act address?
It addressed the high number of deaths and injuries from dangerous ‘back street’ abortions.
What did Michael Schofield’s survey reveal about teenage sexual behavior?
Only 18% of girls and 10% of boys had sex with more than three people, indicating that promiscuity was not the norm.
What did Geoffrey Gorer’s study find about marriage in England?
96% of women and 95% of men were married by age 45, with the average age of marriage for women falling below 23 by 1970.
How did attitudes towards sex before marriage change by 1990?
By 1990, less than one percent of first sexual intercourse took place before marriage.
What was the purpose of the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act?
The act aimed to abolish the death penalty in the UK.
What significant changes occurred in British law between 1959 and 1969?
A series of liberalising laws were passed that decriminalised certain acts and relaxed laws on other crimes relating to sex.
Who primarily drove the demand for liberal laws in the 1960s?
The demand came from certain backbench MPs, not from the general public.
What was Roy Jenkins’ view on liberal laws?
He saw these changes as a measure of a ‘civilised society’ and unofficially encouraged Labour support for liberal laws.
What did Christie Davies argue in his book ‘Permissive Britain’?
He argued that MPs failed to consider the long-term consequences of liberal laws and that the removal of strict boundaries contributed to the decline of traditional morality.
How did Brian Harrison view legislative reform?
He believed that legislative reform merely caught up with changes in behavior that had begun after the end of the Victorian era.
What did Michael Schofield’s survey reveal about teenage sexual behavior?
Only 18% of girls and 10% of boys had had sex with more than three people, indicating that promiscuity was far from normal behavior.
What did Geoffrey Gorer’s study find about marriage rates?
96% of women and 95% of men were married by age 45, with the average age of marriage for women falling below 23 in 1970.
What significant change in attitudes towards premarital sex was noted in Gorer’s study?
Young people were found to be more tolerant of sex before marriage compared to the previous generation.
What was the public perception of homosexuality in the early 1960s?
Homosexuality was poorly understood and viewed with great fear and hatred, particularly towards homosexual men, who were thought to be ill.
A 1963 poll revealed that 93 percent of people thought homosexuals needed medical treatment.
