Woodstock

“FREE LOVE”

By Jess B and Jimmy Vo

The contraceptive pill Launched in 1960 in the US, the Pill was thought to be a "miracle" advance,

which separated sex and procreation.

The pill was originally available for married women only (between 1961 and 1967) and didn't change until 1967.

It became the popular contraceptive choice for women during the “swinging 60s” and gained 1.2 million users within the first two years of its launch.

Women stopped using it temporarily in the 1980s after health scares, with studies linking it to breast cancer, stroke, heart attack, blood clots, and depression. Caused by the high hormone levels.

For the first time women were free to enjoy spontaneous sex without fear of pregnancy. Today it's estimated that about 16 million women use the Pill.

The drug worked by giving the body an extra boost of hormones (synthetic oestrogen and synthetic progesterone in the first Pill), to prevent ovulation.

“Love Drugs” BUDDuring the sixties, as people were trying to find new ways to explore pleasure and ways of bringing it about, marijuana became an obvious choice. Despite the fact that it was illegal, many people were willing to try this amazing substance.Although marijuana is not a mind altering drug like a psychedelic, it was also eagerly sought out for a good "buzz”. Marijuana has been very popular in recent history, and every since the 1960s, has been a common part of our society as a whole.  LCD (Acid)Lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD helped make the sixties what it was.The people who were questioning the system needed to find a new light to look upon things. Their solution was to explore psychedelics. The most common was LSD, a chemical discovered in 1943 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. LSD let people look at things with the different angle their psychidelic trance allowed them.  SHROOMSDuring the sixties, many people experimented with mushrooms in addition to other, stronger psychedelics to help them get a new perspective on their world.But this was not the first time people had experimented with psychedelics to a large degree. Archaeological evidence has proven that psychedelic mushrooms were used at least 5500 years ago in Algeria, and it is well known that most of the major new world cultures experimented in some way. In fact, some psychedelics are still used in American Indian religious ceremonies.

“Free Love”

Nympho: A women with abnormal sexual desires

In fact, the refrain "Make Love, Not War,” was the true chant of the younger generation, led by emerging rock bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who  With the invention of the birth control pill, free love became another mantra (and "mantra” is another word introduced in the Sixties). Young men and women were freer to have relationships with one another, and they did. With this one change, the entire relation between men and women was undermined; no longer did "good girls” have to stay celibate to remain out of trouble. And now both young men and women were free to explore their sexuality. It made a more profound impact in Western society than most of us want to admit, even today.

“Music Influence”

Music was a powerful force in America in the 60's. Not only was it an expression of many people's feelings but it also unified people in a way that no other form of expression could. The sixties were an exciting, revolutionary, turbulent time of great social change which included many drugs, race relations, and free minds. With the popularization of psychedelics during the sixties the music had to change to accomidate the times. The creation of acid rock and more mellow psychedelic rockcame into play. This type of rock was created in the San Fransisco area and spreadthrough the nation quickly. Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead were two of the most popular at the time. The Beatles began it when they turned to acid rock. Thisattracted the teens to their music which in turn made drugs more common.

John Lennon John and Yoko's first album collaboration, "Two Virgins," was released. The covershowed nude photos of the lovers front and back, and was banned.

On March 20, 1969, the couple wed in Gibraltar. The following week, the two mastermedia manipulators used their celebrity for good, hosting a honeymoon "bed-in" forpeace in room 902, the presidential suite of the Amsterdam Hilton. The press avidlypursued them, assuming that the famous nudists would make love for their cameras. Itwas the honeymoon as performance art, interlaced with a protest against the VietnamWar.

Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us onlysky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn'thard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the peopleLiving life in peace You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhoodof man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You may say that I'm adreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one