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Issues in the 1970s were no less issues than they are today. The specifics of them have just changed. And the way that society treats them has changed. I remember in middle school (late 1960s) a classmate of mine committed suicide on the school grounds (not during school). We knew it had happened. We didn't know why (I still don't know why). There were no grief counselors. It wasn't brought up in school. We went on with our lives.
Several issues in the 1970's aren't really as much front page news as they were then. Women's rights/the Equal Rights Amendment, school bussing (remember that?), etc. Homegrown urban terrorism was in vogue with many extremists such as the SLA, and to some extent it's still an issue, but the modern focus is on external threats.
I saw this movie from 1975 called "Smile", about a small town teen beauty pageant. The girls looked their ages, but compared to today's standards, I wouldn't consider them beauty pageant material. By today's standards, most of them would be considered average and some Plain Janes.
It seems to be true that the pressure to he "hot" was not as great then. My daughter often points out how plain the top pop music stars were in the 80s--it's pretty tough to be a top pop star today without being hot.
I really think that varied a lot, regionally. On the West Coast, and especially in the hippy and counter-culture centers in California (especially Berkeley, San Francisco, lots of photos available of that era), very few had any interest in trying to look like they belonged to the adult world. The fact that they didn't live in their parents' house is irrelevant. Many people lived in communal households with their friends, some were able to get jobs, others didn't have steady 8 hr/day jobs due in part to the difficult economic times, but in liberal areas, no one was required to "look like an adult". Men could get jobs even though they had very long hair. Women at 21 or 22 still looked like kids. There's no way to dress up a baby face and make it look matronly. It takes time for bodies and facial features to mature. The late 60's and 70's, and into the 80's, were famously characterized by a "youth culture". Few people (again, this probably varies regionally, but this is typical of the West Coast) had any interest in making themselves look older than they actually were.
That was a different view of what "adult" should look like.
But they were definitely not still trying to continue the look of adolescents.
Also, most school districts transfer older students into different programs or schools, or many such students - if they do not drop out - go to some alternative GED type program. But in the past, some students would stay in high school until they graduated, even if over 20.
Also, most school districts transfer older students into different programs or schools, or many such students - if they do not drop out - go to some alternative GED type program. But in the past, some students would stay in high school until they graduated, even if over 20.
You have it reversed, in the past older students dropped out or went to, in limited numbers, to alternative programs. Today, due to a variety of access to education laws, students stay in school until 21.
half our class stayed back a year or two,,, the "special" classes hadnt started yet,,so the adhd/autistic/hyper kids stayed back
they may have been 20 at graduation,,no wonder they looked older
you go back a few decades alot of kids worked very hard around the farm,,, they aged quicker
also keep in mind, the drinking age was 18 yrs ago, many juniors and seniors could "buy" and again,,many kids smoked, and no one used sunblock years ago,,,only suntan lotion,,, their was one brand in a brown container still like the smelll..something like coconut..
seriously, a few on here mentioned the average weight thru the years has increased...which is probly true,,
the skinny twigs always look a bit older,,look at survivor shows,,,they age 5 yrs with every 10lbs they lose
You are saying the opposite of what the OP is saying.
Still,I say its obesity that makes the kids look younger,and what you describe as pneumatic bodies
I don't know if it's obesity. I lost quite a bit of weight over the last year(my weight is back to the 130s range like it was when I was 21). I'm 27 and my mother tells me that I look like a kid from my weight loss. I get the same reaction from other people, that I look younger from weight loss.
Nether did most of the late-born Boomers, having been just children through most of that. On the other hand, Soundgarden isn't really my thing either. I'm more classic rock.
The likelihood of exposure to drugs undoubtedly varied with the region and/or whatever set you hung out with. There was a fair amount of pot (and I'm sure other) drugs being used at my high school, from which I graduated in 1975. I found more of it at UCSD where I started that Fall; as far as the notion of a drug culture went, it was still a continuation of the 1960s; as for hair and fashion styles, a bit less so. Guys were still wearing long hair, but quite a few girls were beginning to sport bobs, really short "boy" cuts, and short "windswept" dos. While disco, of course, was huge for some people, most of us at UCSD preferred FM rock, or what is now called classic rock. I learned to play guitar by following along with many of those songs, but in hindsight much of it seems terribly bland and pedestrian, as if there'd been a reaction against the more overtly psychedelic and exploratory trends in the late 1960s. I can barely abide classic rock radio now, although that's partly because they usually keep trotting out the same old hits and ignore the interesting album tracks. If I never hear "Double Vision" again it'll be too soon...Where was I?
For me the new wave/punk era of music was good, but I preferred more melodic groups like X and Squeeze over hardcore acts like the Sex Pistols. I liked what was happening in the early 1990s, too. At about this time, when Blockbuster was still running music stores, some executive or other decided to take advantage of the CD format by re-introducing a music store tradition that had long since been dropped: allowing customers to listen to a CD before they bought it. I don't know why, but I identified more with the music of the early 90s than with any of the trends and styles I'd grown up with.
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