Sexual Revolution, Feminism and the Activist Culture

The sexual revolution of the 1960s saw both an emergence of women as viable members of the labor force and an expansion in the socially accepted norms for female behavior. Sperry Rand advertised its innovative agricultural equipment by featuring a sixteen year-old girl who “stacked 100 tons of hay”, illustrating the growing fields available for women, occupations other than secretary, nurse or teacher (it should be noted these opportunities were not exempt from patronization, ie) women can perform the job with the help of new equipment). The ad not only says “It was always a man’s job”, but also appears in a traditionally “man’s magazine”, Sports Illustrated, demonstrating the pervasive nature of this change as not localized within, say, a feminist quarterly.
Socially acceptable ways for women to act sexually expanded as well. The stereo advertisement from The New Yorker depicts a woman in a seductive pose on the couch with a man, while the caption contains many thinly veiled hints toward sexual actions. The New Yorker additionally sported many advertisements geared toward high-end consumer products for women, including perfume ads and the beginnings of sexually suggestive women selling cars. The very position of the woman in the stereo ad, prone and gazing enticingly at the man, had not been seen before in the 1940s or 50s. This development speaks volumes toward American culture at the time as (arguably) such an emergence and expansion of women in American society would not have been possible without the greater domestic climate of activism. While in no detracting from the significance of this transformation, developments such as the Civil Rights and Free Speech Movements generated an atmosphere for change in America, with the change in female representation neatly summarizing the revolutionary climate.

Due to inability to effectively scan the second advertisement, here is a transcript:

“For times when you can’t get up to change records.”

“Consider our Lear Jet Stereo eight home tape player. It’s perfect for those times when you’re deeply involved in something. And the music stops.
A Lear Jet Stereo eight tape player keeps the music going. And it plays only what you want to hear, when you want to hear it…for as long as you want to listen.
You can play popular eight track cartridges in our stereo eight tape player for cars. Or in our stereo eight portables. Or any of the many different units we designed for home use.
When you just don’t want to fool around with your record player, turn on a Lear Jet Stereo eight tape unit.
And feel free to do anything else that interests you.”

Sports Illustrated, 1/1/71, Vol.34, No.1

The New Yorker, 11/9/68, p. 125