Did a sexual revolution occur in the 1960's or was it a communication revolution that made people more open?

Question

I'm writing a research paper for my 1960's class and this is related to my thesis. I'm not looking for help on my paper. I'm just curious about what other people think of this topic. I've taken the stance that the women's movement in combination with the rise of the counterculture made sexuality more acceptable to acknowledge and discuss. Does anyone other than me find this to be an interesting concept?

I want to clarify, hopefully without sounding rude, that I'm aware of influences such as the Pill. Also I'm writing this for a senior level college course. As someone who is a little too interested in history I guess that I'm just interested to hear how others feel about this topic...

Answer 1

to acknowledge and discuss......well, yeah........kids growing up in the 50's were....maybe....given a "birds and the bees" lecture, which lasted maybe 5 minutes with a lot of embarrassment all around.....there was certainly no such thing as a "family planning" class....just lots of rumor and speculation and misinformation circulating around at parties and in locker rooms, and as they say, out behind the barn.
I had a pretty good education...private schools and Ivy League...and was pretty vague about how and when girls got pregnant, and had NEVER heard the word clit...or the phrase feminine orgasm, and many of my female contemporaries weren't much more advanced.

As a result we had a lot of fun figuring things out,and as you say, with a more open communications available, reading learning and then trying it out!

Stuff that today is tame or boring . like 1970's Rolling Stone or even, God help us, Cosmopolitan, was considered near pornographic by our parents, who certainly knew all about sex....I know a lot of women in 1940 lost their virginity as the boys went off to war, and LOOK: a postwar Baby Boom!.....

the revolution was in the area of promiscuity and number of partners.....Greatest Generation folks might have had one or two or three partners,....and maybe not more than 3 "experiences" before marriage....us hippie folks might have that many in a good weekend.....


so yeah, you're on the right track

Answer 2

In the sixties it was more of a communication revolution with the increasing influence of television and specialist magazines pushing the boundaries of what had been considered good taste.
The contraceptive pill was restricted to married women at first and did not become widely available over the counter until the 70s

Answer 3

Compare and contrast. Maybe give statistics on divorces prior and during/after the sexual revolution. Also, the number of out of wedlock children and number of abortions performed prior, during and after the 60's. Cite the number of incidences of sexually transmitted diseases and compare the "sexual education", which was almost entirely taught by the parents and the incident of out of wedlock children and abortions was much lower than now, even with years of education and easily available birth control..then you can show how all that is compared with the benefits the sexual revolution has given to us.

Answer 4

Its a intristing subject to write about, but im not really sure. Our US History Class is just barly gettin to the American Revelution...and we wont even get that far in history... gosh 8th grade history sux at times...

Answer 5

Don't overlook the influence of the Pill, as well as the fact most known venereal diseases of the time were curable.