Is our attitude to sex becoming more victorian and closed or are we becoming a more tolerant society?

Answer 1

Curious question. I think it depends which way you look at it.

It's hard to say without knowing the full Victorian attitude. We know that it was taboo in public and was certainly never documented in the way it is now. However, us Brits (and I presume with you mentioning the Victorians you're talking about Brits) still find the topic of sex taboo in public and according to the rest of world we're still hiding in the dark ages and still blush far too much.

That attitude has been blamed for our high rate of teenage pregnancies, and STDs compared to the rest of Europe. Whether that view is unfounded or not, the two seem linked.

Yet, looking at the change in society - we now have sex education in schools; condoms and birth control can be bought off the shelf with no one blinking an eye; unmarried mothers do not have a scarlet letter like in Puritan times; and homosexuality is starting to be recognised and talked about in law and even the some denominations of the church are relaxing their attitudes.

So in that respect I'd say we're definitely publicly more open towards sex.

But I'd question that the Victorians were 'closed' towards sex. Maybe in public, because it wasn't polite or proper to mention something like that. But there was plenty of innuendo. Also, look at the books written that include sex! Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was written in Creole America 1899. True America is not Britain, and the European element was supposed to be more relaxed and open than the stiff upper lipped Brits. Goin out of the Victorian period we got Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence in 1928 - not too long after Queen Victoria's death. In their costumes sexuality, particuarly the woman's, was celebrated in figure hugging corsets which lifted the breasts.

I'd say that sex wasn't talked about as literally and as plainly - some might say crudely - as it is now, but I wouldn't say they were 'closed' or prudish about it.

Anyway, to finally answer your question simply, in my opinion we are more open about sexual issues now, and are becoming more tolerant.

Answer 2

We left the Victorian attitudes behind years ago ..... and we simply will never return there, quaint though they may have been. Yes, more tolerant we are ... but not only in sexual matters ... in every sphere of life.

Not always a good thing though ... sometimes, old fashioned ideas work better I believe. My only real complaint in such progress is that we have lost tolerance and respect for each other as a result ..... you only have to shop in the big stores nowadays to realise that. Or go into hospital, or complain about something, or expect something to be decently made with good workmanship. We live in a throwaway society I think with similar values .... in a nutshell, tolerancy can be overdone, can't it?

Answer 3

Society is very slowly becoming more tolerant of diversity which is good but unfortunately the religious right are trying to halt progress and want us to return to Victorian times.

Answer 4

We have become so tolerant that it is getting out of control. you have Aids killing millions of people. A few years ago homosexuals were condemned, which was wrong, but now they parade through the streets to the disgust of normal people.
Unmarried mothers are increasing dramatically and some are so young. We should not go back to Victorian times but we have put things in perspective and introduce some control.

Answer 5

No to the tolerant because now people are beginning to understand that we cant always rule someones life with what we deem appropiate if they had believed this long ago their wouldnt be half the wars etc there is today

Victorian huh well lets just say most of them were not as rigid as you may think ever heard of the clandestine affairs masters were were up the skirts of most of the servants

Answer 6

Almost impossible coz nowadays everything had changed. Plus, we need Disraeli as our Prme Minister & Queen Vic as our Queen to become the "Victorian Age"

Answer 7

Society is becoming more open to out of the norm life styles but currently we are still living in a Victorian-like period. But remember this, while in public people acted condescending to the "unknown" territories in the victorian period, indoors they were quite open to it.

Answer 8

I'd say that depends on who you mean by "our". We can't assume that our society is monolithic about this, or any issue for that matter. Actually what I believe "we" are becoming is more polarized. As a society "we" are tending to go in both directions alluded to here. The society is in the midst of fracturing along this and other fault lines. The real question in my opinion is not where the society as a whole is heading but on which side of the fracture fault line one is willing to take one's stand.

Answer 9

much more tolerant, any time you can make a movie with a woman's husband, fall in love have is baby, run off to some exotic country, you get good press. or just because you have a show named Seinfeld, it's ok to have a 17 year old high school girl friend, 20+ years your junior.(where was dateline predators)

Answer 10

I don't know about anyone else, but over the span of the life I've lived thusfar my views are much more tolerant. And I grew up traditionally Catholic! what are the odds huh? go figure.