Another aspect in society which changed to allow women to be more liberalised was fashion, in which there were drastic changes to allow women to have more influence in the media. The transition of fashion from the 1950’s to the 1960’s was very significant, as women initially were expected to bare little flesh, with full skirts, stockings and petticoats being popular. These traditional values changed in the 1960’s, as women’s fashion revealed more flesh and allowed women to express themselves better. A key example which epitomized the fashion changes was the miniskirt and the minidress, which a famous model Twiggy is seen modelling below:
This source shows how women’s fashion changed throughout the decade, as Twiggy is modelling a mini dress that reveals lots of her legs and arms, something which would have been unacceptable in British society throughout the 1950’s. Women began to show more flesh in the form of shorter skirts and dresses, which became the new fashion especially amongst teenage girls. The seductive nature in which she is portraying also a key feature of the source, as The 1960s is often remembered as an era of sexual freedom, such as The pill which provided women with a reliable method of contraception and abortion was legalised. The same sexual freedom was evident through fashion trends and gave women more freedom to explore and contrast different types of clothing. This shows how fashion was a key aspect of change as new trends such as the mini skirt revealed far more flesh and had an impact on women’s role in British society.
Women’s views on family and marriage as well as their domestic lives were also an area in which affected their liberalisation in society, although was far less effective in impacting society than changes in fashion and wages. This was due to traditional values of women being seen as housewives, whose primary concern was to look after their children still being the view of many people in Britain. These traditional values are also supported by the fact that the average age of getting married was 22, and nearly a third of all women were still teenagers when they got married. This shows how there was only a small change in the liberalisation of women when it came to their views on marriage and families, as the general freedom of the sixties did not make the idea of motherhood less attractive to young women. However, women’s domestic lives were an aspect in which was impacted in the 1960’s, with two prime examples being the ‘1969 Divorce Reform Act’, which allowed ‘irretrievable breakdown’ in a marriage as grounds for divorce and the ‘1970 Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act’, which accepted that women’s work in the home should be taken into account for a divorce settlement. These two acts were clearly significant for women’s legal rights within marriage and the home, and even contributed to increasing equality between men and women. In addition to this, there were numerous advancements to household appliances to reduce labour, such as fridges and cookers no longer being luxery items and shopping from home began to develop, such as catalogue and mail order. This emphasised how although in general women’s perception of the role of being a housewife did not change so drastically, their domestic lives were improved as they received more rights and the demands of running a household reduced due to technological advances.
Another area in society in which was impacted so that women changed to allow women to be more liberalised was the change in work available that they had in society. Prior to the 1960’s, women were constrained to supplying artillery that would be used in the war effort and to provide key resources that could help in assisting those participating. However, the 1960’s brought about a new era in which there was a greater variety in the jobs open for women. This is evident through the graph, in which shows how the labour supply of women gradually increased from the year 1960 onwards. The impact of the economic boom of the 1960s can be seen, which gave young women the opportunity to build up career if they so wished. There was a rise in the number of women entering higher education, which broadened their horizon, with a 25% increase in the number of women at university from 1950 to 1970. However, even though more girls took ‘OLevel’ exams, few continued to take A Level, and often girls who pursued their education went on to study subjects like hairdressing and childcare. This shows how the 1960’s caused more job opportunities to be available for women, and although the numbers of girls in higher education increased, their professions were not as respectable as the ones men would study.
The most important aspect of society which liberalised women during the 1960’s was the wages of women, which was evidence that the Feminist movement had been effective in fighting for women’s rights. The fight for equal pay began during the 1950’s, when the government introduced equal pay in men and women in teaching, civil-service and local government. There was then increased pressure from various Feminist movements for equal pay in other areas of employment, such as machinists in Ford Car factories going on strike, causing it to close for three weeks. The Equal Pay Act in 1970 was implemented as a result of the pressure from female workers, and set out equal wages for men and women of the same job, with the primary aim to end inequality in wages. This was a great achievement for women, who were now far more economically independent, giving them more freedom to spend money on luxury items, such as new fashions. The Equal Pay Act was also very significant as it was evidence of greater equality between men and women, and made Feminists more determined to fight for equal rights, with the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) soon following.
In conclusion, a combination of different aspects caused women to be more liberalised, causing various effects on British society. The most significant in terms of the women’s liberalisation was the achievement of the Equal Pay Act, as although changes in fashion allowed women to have more choice and freedom, and there was an increase in career prospects, this was clear evidence of the Feminist movements work and can be seen as one of the first steps to achieve equality between men and women.
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