Sexual Revolution 1960-1980

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The sexual revolution (1960-1980) also known as the time of sexual liberation marked a period that involved the rejection of typical gender roles. It was a social movement that challenged what individuals had previously seen as sexual (Crooks 2011). Before the sexual revolution of the 1960’s throughout the 1980’s, sex was an exciting adventure, done between two persons that every individual looked forward to. It was not done loosely or lawlessly but as a way of expression ones love and affection. The issues of sex were discussed privately and women were taught to preserve their virginity until marriage. Before the sexual revolution, the family was close and their time spent together was of great importance. Loose and lawless sexual …show more content…

However, the rule against time was applied only to women, since they believed that the safety of women were of paramount importance, “at the University of Michigan in 1962, the student handbook devoted nine of its fifteen pages to rules for women. Curfews varied by the night of the week, by the student’s year in college, and even, in some places, by her grade point average” (Bailey 1994, p.117). They kept track of the time that these women left the campus and when they returned. There were not many rules against men since men are most times deemed as being double-standard or physically able to protect and take care of them self. Students were also prohibited to use vehicles to go out on dates or movies. Although measures were put in place to prevent sex on all levels, students found creative ways to break the law. Students did not care where they had sex as long as they were not caught or seen by anyone. One student commented that the issue was not transportation but privacy, “We wouldn’t care if the cars had no wheels, just as long as they had doors” (Bailey 1994, …show more content…

It concentrated on the biological differences of men and women. Bailey argues that men are more aggressive towards sex than women, “women are the limit setters and men the aggressors” (Bailey 1994, p.118). Women have the ability to say when they want sex based on biological make-up, while men cannot and rarely go a few days without wanting to have sex. Women can set limits on sex because of its immediate consequence which is pregnancy. Having an abortion was against the law, it was expensive and risky and women feared the chance of having one. Women were also concerned about their value which can determine whether or not they got married. Women who gave sex to any or every man can lose her value as being too loose and “easy to get.” During the period before the sexual revolution, the socioeconomic status of a woman depended on the type of job that her husband had. Girls and women, who went too far to seduce a man, risk the opportunity of finding a man of high status husband in the future. Men valued women who were virgins hence a teen advisors asked, “Who wants second hand goods.” Sex After The Sexual

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