American Cinema Post 10: The 1960's The Counter Culture Strikes Back

The women's liberation movement of the 1960's helped them undo the schackling sexual sterotypes afforded their generations before them in many ways. In 1963 The Feminine Mystique was written by a feminist author who spoke of the repression of her sex. This helped pave the way for a new generation of women who weren't comfortable with the status quo. The political activism group NOW (National Organization of Women) was established in 1966. The pharmaceutical company Envoid made oral contraceptive available to the public for the first time in 1960. This had the effect of allowing women the control of their own body and control of how and when they wanted a family. Eventually Roe V. Wade would set the precedent for the legalization of abortion for women in 1973. All of these things had the effect of creating a positive environment for women to break free of their traditional roles in society.
This was not necessarily represented on the screen in the 60's however. Female characters in films of this era were not usually represented as intelligent, politically active, or otherwise liberated of stereotypical roles; quite the opposite, they usually were seen as stereotypes. Films such as the James Bond series, Lolita, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Barbarella, and others represented women as sexual objects. Though this era allowed for relaxed restrictions on what was permissible on screen due to the end of the Hays Production Code, this often translated into outright sexuality that denied women the perhaps more nuanced representations afforded them in earlier era films. Even in more conservative fare such as Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music women were still seen in stereotypical roles. Although they weren't necessarily sex symbols, they still represented the motherly interpersonal role typically associated with women. It seems that despite liberation of women during this era offscreen, it would take some time before they might obtain liberation onscreen.