CoL49 (5) Two or Three Things About Her

[Paul Mackin]

On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Monte Davis <montedavis at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> >  The sexties and 7ts
> > were an era wherein the cultural identity of Americans was
> > rattled to the quick.  We seem still to be at sea as to what
> > it means to be an "American," whereas after WWII, Americans
> > enjoyed a brief period of cultural certainty, however
> > deluded...
>
> Charlie Haas, 1983:
>
> "During the long sleep of the Eisenhower years, sex was something 'dirty,'
> unnatural and very much restricted. In many states, laws placed stringent
> limits on breast size and penis length-- freedoms that, today, we take
> almost for granted. But then came the '60s-- a turbulent decade of turmoil,
> or ferment, or fomented torment. For many, the lyrics of rock-prophet Bob
> Dylan seemed to sum it all up: 'Now your dancing child with his Chinese
> suit,/He spoke to me, I took his flute./No, I wasn't very cute to him,/Was
> l?' The very foundations of society seemed to be shaking, as long-held
> assumptions were questioned. Who were we? Why were we here? Where were we
> going? Were we there yet? When were we going to be there? Now were we there
> yet?
>
> "But the '70s held few answers. We seemed to be hurtling into a new,
> terrifyingly uncertain time, as sex roles, standards of conduct, even car
> shapes, underwent rapid alteration. The Muppets rushed into the vacuum the
> Beatles had left; John Heard was the new screen idol for all who could
> remember which one he was. The Pill had revolutionized sexuality. I think I
> meant William Hurt back there. Reeling from assassinations, from Vietnam,
> from Watergate, we hungered for a portentous, yackety style of journalism
> that could put all the pieces together. But chilling new deterrents to sex
> were on the horizon: herpes, AIDS, the Grace Jones look. This whole analysis
> is valid because I say so, and Jill (not her real name) is glad I do. 'I'd
> hate to be in an article like this,' she says, 'and then have them leave out
> the phrase 'the long sleep of the Eisenhower years.' "
>
>
Very funny,Monte.

For me the biggest thing the 60s brought was I didn't have to wear a
sujt and tie to work any longer.

I don't think sex was changed much for adults (which I alas already
very much was). That was the 70s when things went wild. But only for a
while.

P