T H E "M E" D E C A D E

The 1970s were times of stark endings and exciting beginnings. A prolonged recession forced people to reduce their expectations of the "good life."

The 1970s ushered in a new era of global economic turbulence. Oil prices skyrocketed, making the 1970s the worst decade since World War II. After nearly ten years the Vietnam War finally came to an end. For the first time in history a US President, Richard M. Nixon, resigned. Women finally won the right to vote in Switzerland, while a "Black is Beautiful" campaign swept through African-American communities across the United States. The widespread use of birth control pills allowed women to explore their sexuality without fear of pregnancy. Abortion was legalised in the United States and Italy. Men were urged to throw off their macho exteriors and get in touch with their softer sides. Sensitive male film idols such as Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman got the lion's share of lead film roles. In music James Taylor provided a soothing counterpoint to the machismo of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. Homosexuals also demanded increased freedom and began living openly together. Even straight people experimented with members of their own sex. A new "gay chic" emerged and gender-bending stars such as David Bowie and Elton John taunted the public with "Is he or isn't he?"

THE SILVER SCREEN

At the cinemas Love Story, about a doomed love affair between two idealistic young people, struck a chord with the public. Harold and Maude, Last Tango in Paris, and The Great White Hope featured partnerships that defied convention. A more open-minded attitude about sex emerged. The movie The Boys in the Band created a stir when it explored relationships within the homosexual community and Le Souffle au Coeur by Louis Malle caused its own scandal by depicting an incestuous moment between a mother and son. Films also became more sexually explicit. Couples began watching pornographic movies such as Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door together, hoping to improve their lovemaking techniques. Divorce rates surged and marriages declined as the decade wore on. Cinemas featured films-Up the Sandbox, The Stepford Wives and Diary of a Mad Housewife-about frustrated married women. An Unmarried Woman explored divorce from the female standpoint, while Starting Over showed the man's perspective. Kramer vs. Kramer dared ask if women are naturally better parents than men.

BETWEEN THE PAGES

The literary set also dealt with changing sexual values. Spicy novels Once Is Not Enough and The Lonely Lady flew off the shelves, and how-to books The Joy of Sex and Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask did brisk business. E.M. Forster's Maurice, published after his death, explored homosexual love, and prolific British erotic author Jackie Collins wrote The Bitch, which would be made into a film with Jackie's sister Joan Collins as the star.

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The decade also produced some interesting couples. Among the pairings that raised eyebrows were entertainer Dinah Shore and actor Burt Reynolds, who was 19 years her junior, Beatle John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono, and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his younger hip wife Margaret. Diana Spencer met Prince Charles for the first time-he described her as "very jolly." The 1970s were also notable for romantic pairings in the music industry. Several couples- Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille, Paul and Linda McCartney, John and Yoko, and Ike and Tina Turner-hit the charts together. Couples also broke up. Elvis and Priscilla Presley parted ways and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton divorced for the second time. Faye Dunaway's sleek glamour and Raquel Welch's stunning proportions captivated the men. Women sighed over John Travolta's dance moves, Sylvester Stallone's rugged looks and Warren Beatty's roguish behaviour. Mick Jagger was the big-lipped, long haired, leotard-wearing lead singer of the Rolling Stones, oozing raw sex appeal. This was the decade he