To some people the sixties were the best of times; to others it was a period when many things in society went wrong, why do people have such different ideas about the 1960s?

Women also had great sixties as well because of the creation and changing of the contraceptive pill, abortion and divorce laws, education, jobs and pay. The conceptive pill invention gave women freedom and now they could plan their own lives. The abortion act of 1967 was made so that abortion was made legal but it was strictly controlled under medical supervision, this was because the government wanted to stop 'back street abortions' which were carried out by untrained people and was very dangerous. The pill and the abortion act together gave women a very effective way to plan when they wanted children. In the sixties there were several legal changes, which gave women a stronger position in marriage. The Married women's property act in 1964 made sure that all women would get half the money they saved from housekeeping, in 1967, the matrimonial acts gave husband and wife exactly the same right of occupation in a family home. Best most of all in 1970, when family assets were divided up the women's upkeep of household and welfare of family was taken into acount.women were now treated with more equality, and this had been a great change for women who lived in the 1950s. Before, in the 1950s women did not have many job opportunities most of them worked in boutiques or as receptionists all of this was because of the traditional views that women stay at home and sacrifice their career for the home and children, this is because they did not have equal education. So in the sixties law was formed to make sure girls and boys had same education.

Liberals liked the sixties because there were many changes. Homosexuality was legalised in 1967 but relationships had to be in private and The Death penalty was abolished.

Most parents would have disliked the sixties because they would disapprove their children's Behaviour. Because of the changes in popular culture teenagers would constantly going out, listen to music that parents found offensive, artists like Beatles and Rolling stone, this is because they influenced drug use, suggested sex and rebellion. During the sixties the fashion changed from formal clothes to youthful and more provocative clothing, such as the mini skirt. Parents thought that their daughters were going out to have sex when they wear tight clothes and miniskirts, and fathers thought sons were being unmasculine by worrying about their appearance all the time.

The church thought the sixties as a time when things went wrong because they believed that the marriage acts of parliament broke down family values and that it made the marriage bond weaker. The church disliked the pill and abortion because it encouraged sex before marriage; also it made relationships less loving. The church believed that abortion was murder and it weakened society. Also the church opposed to homosexuals because it was against the teaching of church

The government disliked the sixties because TV, magazines and newspapers were constantly attacking them. Church, Politicians, royal family and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan were targets for satire. In weekly programmes on TV like 'Beyond the Fringe' and 'TW3' they were made fun of. In magazines such as 'Private Eye' they were pictures of public figure and politician with speech bubbles that ridiculed them. In 1963 satirists revealed to public that the secretary of war, John Promumo had been having an affair with nineteen year old girl Christine Keeler who also slept with a Soviet spy, this led to many people believing that the government was untrustworthy and wrong.

In conclusion whoever liked or disliked the sixties depended on their age, religion, gender and politics. It was a great time for young people because of their freedom and popular culture but bad for the older generation who were more traditional. Religious Christians believed that the pill and abortion and homosexuals was wrong and weakened society. For women, sixties was a time of great changes because now they could have equal pay, better jobs and education and a stronger legal position in marriage. Some husbands would have disliked this because they are not used to living without their wives looking after the house and family. For liberals sixties was good because of the abolition of death penalty and legalisation of gays. For people who belived in politics and trusted the government, they disliked the sixties because they do not like to see the politicians being attacked by the media. One of the main things of the sixties is that it was the beginning of when people began questioning society and lack respect for the establishment. The strong moral and family values of before had changed by the end of the 1960s into freedom, self-expression and the individual.