society in the 1970s Flashcards
describe the progress of feminism:
-peak of second wave feminism in the 1970s
-emergence of Women’s Liberation Groups
what event did protestors disrupt in 1970?
Women’s liberation groups disrupted the Miss World Contest as they felt it objectified women e.g. smoke bombs thrown on to stage
what did Women’s Lib organise in 1971?
demonstrations in London and Liverpool demanding equal pay and free 24hr nurseries
how was feminism split in the 1970s?
-radical feminists believed women were oppressed by the patriarchal society and campaigned particularly on issues such as reproductive rights
-socialist feminists focused on a class dimension to women’s inequality and campaigned on issues that would enable them to achieve financial independence
how was progress made in respect to reproductive rights/violence against women?
-birth control became widespread after it was made available through the NHS in 1971
-first rape crisis centre established in 1976 london
-1976 domestic violence act made it possible for women to take out court orders restraining violent partners
-1977 reclaim the night marches in response to the yorkshire ripper
describe the sex discrimination act:
-1975
-passed to end discrimination on the basis of gender or a women’s marital status
-aimed to ensure equality of opportunity in employment and education
-set up equality opportunities commission - to oversee this act and the 1970 equal pay act, could bring court proceedings against any patty not compliant with these acts
improvements to women’s economic position:
-from 1971 they could take out a mortgage without a male guarantor
-equal pay act came into force 1975
-social security pensions act was a reform making it more generous to women whose contributions had been limited by caring responsibilities
-1975 employment protection act introduced paid maternity leave
-women’s wages went up from 59% of men’s in 1970 to 70% by 1977
negatives of sex discrimination act:
-equality opportunities commission only launched 9 investigations 1975-1983
-only 10% of sex discrimination claims in the workplace were successful
continuation of inequalities for women:
-TUs still dominated by men and members were concerned that more women in the workplace would lower wages for men
-equal pay act had loopholes - employers could get around it by making the tasks slightly different and therefore not comparable
what act did the gov. pass in 1971 in regards to immigration?
Immigration Act that restricted the right of people from the new commonwealth from coming to britain
describe the increase in immigration:
-steady flow from Indian subcontinent
-influx of Ugandan Asians after many had been expelled (made exceptions from Immigration Act)
-influx from Bangladesh
-by 1974 over 1 mil new commonwealth immigrants had come to Britain
how was political representation limited for immigrants?
-in 1974 london borough council elections, only 10 non-white councillors were elected - this didn’t reflect the size of the immigrant population
what did labour pass in 1976 related to race?
Race Relations Act - established commission for racial equality which had the power to instigate investigations and to compel witnesses to appear in front of it
describe the National Front:
-became active in areas where immigrants had settled e.g. Brick Lane
-had 20,000 members in 1976
-feb 1974 = put 90 candidates in general election
-by 1977 it was being described as Britain’s 4th largest political party
-prompted a response to immigration from the main parties e.g. late 1970s conservatives announced they would toughen up immigration policy
-strategies = marches and demonstrations, often violent - assaults and robberies on asian and african carribeans rose by 1/3rd
-some skinheads behind racially motivated attacks
examples of attempts to combat racism:
-anti-nazi league set up 1977
-Rock Against Racism started in 1976 in reaction to comments Eric Clapton made in support of Enoch Powell - they held a huge concern in 1978 with 100,000 attendees, the clash headlined
describe distrust in the police:
-people distrusted their treatment of ethnic minorities
-1976 = only 70 police officers with a black or ethnic minority background
-young black people felt the police were harassing them unnecessarily
-1976 notting hill riot - tensions with police resulted into a riot with 300 people injured
-1979 death of blair peach - killed by police at a demonstration
progress with race relations seen in popular culture:
-black footballers became more common e.g. john barnes
-reggae and ska became more popular
-local authorities began to follow multiculturalist polices
ongoing racism in popular culture:
-football games included a lot of racism e.g. throwing banana skins
-comedians still made racist jokes e.g. Black and White Minstrel included blackface
describe a new movement in youth culture:
-punk movement began mid 1970s
-bands e.g. the sex pistols, the clash
-nihilistic attitude, lyrics reflected social alienation that many young people felt
-image supposed to be shocking e.g. spiky hair, wore safety pins
-punk created a moral panic e.g. sex pistols swore on TV, controversial single ‘God save the queen’
describe the skinhead movement:
-working class
-initially influenced by jamaican music and culture but became increasingly associated with the national front
-very linked to football hooliganism which was increasing
describe a new word related to environmentalism which emerged in the 1970s:
ecology (the health of the environment) - impacted on the public consciousness
evidence of organised environmentalism movements:
-1971 pressure group Friends of the earth expanded to britain
-new form of anti-nuclear protest campaigned against it fie to the long term dangers in dealing with nuclear waste for the environment - increased fears due to accidents e.g. multiple accidents at Sellafield nuclear power station
example of direct action related to environmentalism:
-violent attacks on labs from 1973 in response to discovering that beagles were being forced to smoke 30 cigarettes a day
-ALF formed 1976 which adopted extreme violence e.g. sending letter bombs to thatcher
environmentalism reflected in popular culture and politics:
-1979 Attenborough’s life on earth gained massive audiences
-watership down became a bestseller
-The People’s Party set up 1973 - put 5 candidates in 1974
-changed its name the the ecology party and put up 53 candidates in 1979 election
-by end of 1970s, environmentalism had a permanent place on the political scene
