Topic 3: Social (1970-79) Flashcards
4
Describe the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act under Wilson
- Act made it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex in employment, educational facilities, housing, goods and services
- Equal Opportunities Commission created with investigator powers
- Discrimination still hard to prove
- Between 1976-1983 only 10% of sex discrim cases in workplace successful
4
List the main developments in feminism in the 1970s
- Women Lib groups
- Demonstrations
- Factions
- Legislation
5
Describe political progress in the feminist movement in the 1970s
- legislation
- 1970s saw high point of second-wave feminism
- Epitomised through inauguration of UN International Women’s in 1977
- Women’s Liberation pressure group set up in 1970
- First female leader for major party - Thatcher 1975
4 - 3 groups
Describe the factions of feminism in the 1970s
-
radical feminists - demanded feminism based upon lesbian relationships
- first Gay Pride march held in London in 1971
- moderate feminism - combined equality with family life
- socialist feminism - identified class division in female equality and demanded greater economic independence of women
5
Describe social progress in the feminism movement in the 1970s
- Growth of literature
- Education furthered through opening of Department of women’s studies in universities
- Pill had become available on NHS
- First rape crisis centre opened in London in 1976
- Marriage
4
Describe protests of the feminist movement in the 1970s
- Women’s Lib groups disrupted the 1970 Miss World Contest and heckled host Bob Hope, protesting the objectification of women
- First Women’s Liberation March took place in 1971 - divisions over radical separatists
- Demonstrations in March 1971 in Liverpool/London demanding equal pay and free nurseries
- 1977, first ‘reclaim the night’ march held across Britain in response to Yorkshire Ripper murders
Unprecedented economic independence:
Women’s earnings as proportion of men’s grew from (…) in 1970 to (…) in 1980
63%
73%
3
Describe marriage/divorce in the 1970s
- N of first marriages declined - marriage rate sustained by rising second marriages
- New cohabitation partnerships emerged e.g. stable unmarried relationships
- Survey found 77% felt that marriage was not old fashioned
3
Describe feminist literature in the 1970s
- 1972, Cosmopolitan magazine arrived from US and dealt with issues such as abortion and contraception
- Appealed to mainstream with fashion - not popular with militant feminists for engendering stereotypes
- Publishers such as Virago furthered Women’s Liberation movement
5
List women’s rights legislation in the 1970s
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Equal Pay Act 1970 (operative in 1975)
- Social Security Act 1975
- Employment Protection Act 1975
- Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1976
1
Describe limits to the Equal Pay Act 1970
- employers used loopholes to give women different, lower-paid tasks → pay therefore not comparable
2
Describe the Social Security Act 1975
- By Castle
- Consolidated state pension scheme
2
Describe the Employment Protection Act 1975
- introduced paid maternity leave
- outlawed dismissal on pregnancy grounds
1
Describe the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1976
- made it easier to gain protection from violent husbands
2
List progress and limitations in race relations legislation in the 1970s
- Limitation - Immigration Act 1971
- Progress - Race Relations Act 1976
5
Describe the Immigration Act 1971
- passed in 1971, operative from 1973
- defined partial as born in UK or resident for 5 or more years (expanded upon 1968 act)
- Unrestricted entry for those with patrial status
- Entry for non-patrial citizens dependent on visa
- Thus all non-patrial Commonwealth citizens who sought UK employment reduced to status of contract labourer
patrial - British citizen (or substantial connection)
7
Describe the Race Relations Act 1976
- Aimed to tackle problems of second-class citizenship
- Replaced acts of 1965 and 1968
- Made discrim unlawful in employment, training, edu, provisions of goods and services
- Made it an offence to stir up racial hatred
- Extended law to cover discrim by private clubs
- A new body, the Race Relations Commission, replaced earlier bodies
- Bill passed with all-party support, though a few Cons voted against
6
Describe Heath’s policy towards Ugandan Asians
- Triggered when Uganda’s eccentric dictator Idi Amin in 1972 announced he had a dream which instructed him to give all Ugandan Asians 3 months to emigrate
- Under 1968 quota, 3k were allowed to enter Britain in any one year
- Government set up Ugandan resettlement board using military camps as holding centres
- Linked with volunteer groups which helped find immigrants homes
- 28.5k Ugandan Asians arrived
- 30k new jobs created in Leicester -> became model-city for multi-ethnic integration
4
Describe the rise of the National Front
- By 1977, described as Britain’s 4th largest party in terms of vote share
- Held marches in areas of concentrated immigration
- Trades Council of East London detailed over 100 violent incidents, inc 2 murders, between Jan 1976 and Aug 1978
- Assaults on Asians and Afro-Carribeans rose by 1/3
5
Describe anti-racist organisations
- Rock Against Racism 1976 - reaction to Eric Clapton’s comments in support of Powell
- Many stars performed without payment
- 1978 Trafalgar Square concert attracted 100k
- Anti-Nazi League set up in 1977
- Supported by Neil Kinnock
4
Describe racial tensions with the police in the 1970s
- ‘Canteen culture’
- In 1976, only 70 of 22k Met Police workforce were black/ethnic officers
- ‘Sus’ law
- Death of Blair Peach, an anti-nazi league supporter accidentally killed by police at a demonstration
The Met accepted responsibility for Peach’s murder in 2010
3
Describe the ‘sus’ law
- 19th century law
- allowed police to arrest people they suspected were about to commit a crime
- over 50% arrested with law were black
3
Describe opposition to the ‘sus’ law
- 1975, ‘The Black Parents Movement’ set up in response to police brutality towards black children
- 1978, ‘Scrap Sus’ campaign - drew together imms
- Law repealed in 1981
5
Describe racial progress in sports and culture in the 1970s
- Increasingly visible
- 1978, Viv Anderson became first player to be picked for England football team
- Reggae and ska increasingly popular among youth groups
- Local authorities followed multicultural policies
- Polyethnic consumer marketing grew
4
Describe racial limitations in sports and culture in the 1970s
- Football terraces
- Notting Hill Carnival 1976 riot saw 300 injured
- Black and White Minstrel Show continued until 1978
- 1980, Commission for Racial Equality stated racial discrim is still rife
4
Describe the relation between racial tensions and class in the 1970s
- Race replaced class as greatest determiner of social inequality
- 1974 elec non-white vote: 72% Lab, 17% Con
- Much of NF support came from poor urban areas
- High unemployment and poor housing for youth at time
5
Describe the punk subculture
- Emerged as reaction to ostentatious British groups
- Androgyny
- Unisex clothing with swastikas and brightly dyed hair
- Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Mclaren opened a boutique on Kings Road, Chelsea called ‘Sex’, influenced by punk image
- Sex Pistols
Androgyny - mix of masculine/feminine aspects
3
Describe the actions of the Sex Pistols
- Released controversial ‘God Save the Queen’ song during Silver Jubillee
- In song, called the monarchy a ‘facist regime’
- BBC refused to air song but reached No2 on official charts
2
Describe opposition to the punk subculture
- Local authorities banned performances to protect local people
- Major labels would move into independent punk scene → softened style to make it commercially viable
7
Describe the skinhead subculture
- Distinguishable by their shaved haircuts and Doc Martin boots
- Exaggerated reaction to hippie movement of 60s
- Developed from Mod culture
- Early skinheads into black ska music
- Image later adopted by NF thugs
- Tended to be WC and linked to football hooliganism
- Reflected social abandonment of youth
3
Describe football hooliganism in the 1970s
- Worsened in 1970s
- Linked to football clubs e.g. Newcastle’s Gremlins
- became known as ‘English Disease’
2
Describe positive movements in youth subcultures in the 1970s
- Rock against Racism 1976
- Embracing of subcultures helped rap/reggae become established into popular British subculture
5
Describe violence in Britain in the 1970s
- Miners strikes, racial issues, nationalism
- Clashes between NF and Trotskyist demonstrators led to 1 death in Red Lion Square in 1974
- Immense violence at Grunwick picket lines in 1977 left 97 policemen injured
- Increasing use of Met Police Special Patrol Group at demonstrations
- Death of Blair Peach in 1979
4
Describe the background to environmentalism in the 1970s
- CND was forerunner to movements
- Linked to pollution, organic farming, nuclear waste, etc
- Counterculture to consumerism
- Between 1957-1979, there had been 5 incidents at a Cumbrian nuclear power station
6
Describe Green politics in the 1970s
- Department of Environment formed 1970
- Disparate protests coalesced into organised campaigns
- Friends of Earth, originally formed in US in 1969, expanded to include Britain in 1971
- PEOPLE party (1972) → Ecology Party (1975) → Green Party (1985)
- Put up 5 candidates in Feb 1974 elec, including Goldsmith
- 53 candidates in 1979 elec
3
Describe environmental protests in the 1970s
- Greenpeace UK formed in 1977 and became infamous for NVDA
- Direct action split environmental movement
- Animal welfare protests (see other card)
3
Describe animal welfare protests in the 1970s
- Carried out violent attacks against pharmaceutical labs from 1973
- Extremely violent Animal Liberation Front (ALF) formed in 1976
- ALF sent letter bombs sent to politicians, including Margaret Thatcher in 1982
4
Describe the new environmental media
- 1972’s Watership Down, about rabbits being forced to move due to a road development, became a bestselling book
- Teddy Goldsmith’s 1972 A Blueprint for Survival advocated a return to self-sufficiency and de-industrialisation
- BBC Natural History Unit made several conservation TV programmes
- David Attenborough’s 1979 Life on Earth series gained massive TV audiences worldwide
3
Descrbe terrorism in the 1970s
- NF openly provoked black communities
- Resentment against govt anti-terrorist policies of internment (introduced 1971) and ‘Diplock Courts’ (introduced 1973)
- Bloody Sunday 1972 led to extension of Provisional IRA’s terror campaign
Diplock Courts - non-jury trials to prevent IRA intimidation
2
List examples of IRA terrorist incidents in the 1970s
- Tower of London Bombing 1974 killed one woman and injured 41
- Birmingham Pub Bombings 1974 killed 21
1
Describe progress in crime in the 1970s
- Rape received increasing publicity due to feminism movement - first rape crisis centre 1976
4
Describe limitations in crime in the 1970s
- Violent crime and vandalism increased against fall in number of persons prosecuted
- Corruption and conspiracy in public life increased (e.g. Maulding)
- Prison seriously overcrowded by end of decade - increased risk of prison riots
- Black and youth hostility to police
2
Describe progress in drugs in the 1970s
- early 70s: prison sentences
- late 70s: large fines for first convictions
arguably a limit
4
Describe limitations in drugs in the 1970s
- Cannabis use peaked in mid-1970s
- ⅓ of uni students used drug, twice rate of non-student population
- More WC users
- Heroin market grew
4
Describe media in the 1970s
limit
- TV increasingly provoked less social norms
- Trivial sitcoms became prevalent e.g. emmerdale 1972
- ‘Till Death Us Do Part’ and ‘Love thy Neighbour’ stereotyped black community and among most popular programmes of era
- Women objectified in media - also through tabloids e.g. Sun pg3 girls started in 1970
3
Describe film in the 1970s
mix of progress and limit
- New special effect technology led to collaboration with US e.g. Star Wars
- Less provokation in mainstream cinema
- Independent directors would produce more controversial films
3
Describe theatre in the 1970s
limit
- More controversial than film or TV
- Peter Schaffer’s Equus (1979) showed descriptions of confused sexuality
- 1976, ‘Gay Sweatshop’ production company formed producing plays with homosexual themes
1
Describe the problems of the Department of Environment
- Hamstrung by management of wider portfolio of issues: local govt, housing, planning
