The counter cultural movement began in 1960s in the wake of Vietnam war. The young people were frustrated due to racism, gender issues, consumerism, and the conservative nature of society in general. They were looking for a change and found it in the emerging counter cultural movements of 1960s. The youngsters began to question the traditional values and culture of the Orthodox American society. They welcomed sex, drugs and pop music. The counter culture movement reached its heights in 1969, when the young people attended the Woodstock Music and Art Festival at Newyork. The festival became a symbol of anti-war movement. The festival was a mixture of hippie, pop and drug culture. One of the notable feature of the counter culture movement was the sexual freedom and rise of feminism. There was a steep rise in abortions, orphans and divorce. Political activism on the part of women resulted in the formation of National organization for Women (NOW). Other than women, homosexuals were also raised their voice for equality which was later included the Civil Rights issue. Stone Wall Inn riots in 1969 and the establishment of Gay Liberation Front were important steps in their struggle for civil rights. The counter cultural sentiments were also expressed in movies and arts. The movement did not limit in North America alone, but spread to Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. An international rock and roll group from Britain known as the Beatles was widely popular. The counter culture movement had merits and demerits. One the one hand, it stood against the cold war, on the other hand, it rebelled against the traditions of America. The same revolution can be seen today in the struggles of lesbians and homosexuals and in numerous anti-war protests especially against the War on Iraq
The counter cultural movement started on the background of Vietnam War. It was a post-war