The 1960s was a decade that began on January 1, 1960 and ended on December 31, 1969. The term 1960s also refers to an era more often called the Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends around the globe.This cultural decade is more loosely defined than the actual decade, beginning around 1963 and ending around 1974.nspired by the civil-rights movement and the women's movement, early gay-rights pioneers had begun, by the 1960s, to build a movement. These groups were rather conservative in their practices, emphasizing that gay men and women are no different from those who are straight and deserve full equality.