Sexual Irreverence in Modern America

1072 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Media influence in society

It may not be a 1960s sexual revolution but Americans' attitudes toward sex have certainly taken a dramatic turn toward sexual irreverence. American culture has lost all sense of discretion. We have no boundaries or sense of anything being a private matter. After we cruised through the conservative 50’s; we chanted and swayed through the sexual revolution of the 60’s. But we didn’t stop there. Now we’re riding the fiber optic wave of immediate and impersonal self-gratification. American culture is getting more accepting of provocative messages and behavior with each passing decade. What caused the drastic shift in attitudes from the 1950s to the 1960s? Do we owe today’s epidemic of casual sex to any one thing? The 1950’s was a conservative period of time. The expectations of men and women were set very high. Females were supposed to dress and act very ladylike and men had a very simple but elegant style that consisted of a suit and tie. In the 1950’s, premarital sex was not accepted and if a young woman were to find herself pregnant she would be sent away or put into a special school for girls. After this conservative era, the free love 60’s followed. What caused the shift in attitudes toward peace, love and rock-n-roll? Civil rights and anti-war campaigns moved the younger generation of the 1960s to question their parents’ conservative beliefs. Coupled with the availability of oral contraceptives and you have a generation with a value shift. The shift resulted in more women working outside of the home and a push toward equal rights among men and women. Fashion soon shifted to a more openly sexual style including; miniskirts, long tight pants worn with go-go boots, bell bottom jeans, and love beads. There was even a shift towa... ... middle of paper ... ...access to a lot of technology. There is still no excuse for missing out on a real relationship. Take the time to ask someone out on a date, look your friend in the eye when you talk, turn the computer off and spend some time talking to your family and friends. Parents of the 1960s survived a sexual revolution and even saw some wonderful results from the “peace and love” attitude. Maybe parents of this decade will look back and say they survived a sexual irreverence and had some wonderful results too! Works Cited http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/05/nyregion/5-passengers-say-airlines-discriminated-by-looks.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2002/jun/05/theairlineindustry.usnews http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2025598.stm http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/04/national/main511058.shtml http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/11/sunday/main6385040.shtml

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Don T Step On It Make You Cry

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960’s changed the world in an explosion of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, for the first time women and men where declaring freedom and free love. The sexual revolution of the 1960’s saw changes in the way the world saw its self, and the way we saw each other. It changed what we wanted to buy, how we bought it and how we sold it to each other. Artistic free thinkers began to push boundaries everywhere they could. This is reflected in the music of the times, the notable events and the fashion.

    Read More

  • Causes of the Counter-Culture

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the 1950’s rolled along and the 1960’s came into effect, the world was thrown into a topspin that would soon define every generation of youths. As the trends changed and the music got more complex a deeper metamorphosis was taking place inside every city and every person. To develop a counterculture in the 1960’s there had to be new ideas circulating that were counter-norm. These ideas were not developed right away for any one reason, though. Just like the times, the causes for this counter-culture were far more complex than anyone had seen before in the 20th century. Some could say it was because of a civil rights call or say it was because of the drugs, but I just don’t know if anyone could really pin it to one key cause.

    Read More

  • Conformity In The 1950s Essay

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1950’s have received a reputation as an age of political, social and cultural conformity. This reputation is rightfully given, as with almost every aspect of life people were encouraged to conform to society. Conforming is not necessarily a negative thing for society, and the aspects of which people were encouraged to conform in the 1950’s have both negative and positive connotations.

    Read More

  • The Hippie and Other Movements in The 1970s

    1962 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 60s was the period of time when the baby boomers began to grow up and supplement their own ideas. The post World War II Baby Boom created 70 million teenagers for the sixties. This youth swayed fashion into their own favor by moving away from the conservative fifties. Also the fads and the politics of the decade were also influenced by the new generation.

    Read More

  • How Rock and Roll Changed America

    1919 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rock and Roll was the start of a new revolution in America. It introduced the world to many of the famous artists that continue to be a part of our lives today. "Artists who became popular in the 1950s such as Elvis, began to pave the way for others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly" (The History of Rock 'n' Roll until 1960). With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, there came many new changes to the lives of many Americans. Rock and Roll was a major contributor for the change in teens' behavior in the 1950s because it encouraged new freedoms for teenagers, encouraged new fads among teenagers, and caused a generation gap.

    Read More

  • Flirting In The 1940's

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout time there are some periods that are distinct to those looking back. The fashion, ideas, historical events and lives of people in the past vary between the decades. The 1940’s mark a decade where peace was declared and old norms and values were shed. Finding a soulmate was more important then than ever as a new world rose up and pop culture gained traction. Dating was part of the rise of pop culture in the 1940’s. Women and girls were given more roles in society outside of roles in the home. As a result of this combined with the newfound ‘teenager’ image, adolescent girls would dress in men’s clothes, listen to popular music one the gramophone and socialise with adolescent boys.

    Read More

  • Women In The 1950s Essay

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1950s was a time when conformity held supreme in the culture at large. Issues such as women 's rights were thrown to the back as people tried to remain in the popular form of a family. These issues being put off only caused the prolonging of the tumultuous 1960s that would soon

    Read More

  • The American Culture of the 1950s

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.

    Read More

  • Flappers Essay

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    This new sense of equality and freedom manifested itself through what might be termed as “unladylike things”. The introduction of birth control in the last decade empowered women to take control of their own body as well. The Flapper became more open to experiment with sexual behaviors than previous generations. Sigmund Freud, a modern-day psychoanalyst, claimed that this sudden expr...

    Read More

  • A 1920s Woman

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...

    Read More

  • The Counterculture

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the sixties Americans saw the rise of the counterculture. The counterculture, which was a group of movements focused on achieving personal and cultural liberation, was embraced by the decade’s young Americans. Because many Americans were members of the different movements in the counterculture, the counterculture influenced American society. As a result of the achievements the counterculture movements made, the United States in the 1960s became a more open, more tolerant, and freer country.

    Read More

  • The Hippie Counterculture

    2095 Words  | 5 Pages

    The nineteen fifties was a decade of prosperous times in America, but the average lifestyle of an American seemed extremely dull. The average American conformed to social norms, most Americans in the nineteen fifties dressed alike, talked the same way, and seemed to have the same types of personality. Music is what started to change the conformist lifestyle in America. Teenagers started to rebellion against their families by listening to Rock-n-Roll...

    Read More

  • Sexual Revolution

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Looking at our past, there have been dramatic changes in the way humans view sex. Long before the 1900s individuals framed their views based on the religious institution. Due to the fact that they strongly centered their idea of sexual thought on religion, they believed that the only purpose of having sex was to procreate. As the 1920’s approached, there were various factors that changed the way individuals viewed sex. The “new women” known, as flappers were women who were confident in who they were. They changed their attire as well as their social attitude. In the 1920s, the flappers redefined sex; customs and traditions were broken and new norms were created by society.

    Read More

  • Essay On The 1955 Good Housewife's Guide

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    When analyzing the 1950s, it is clear that racial segregation, strict sexual mores, oppressive women’s rights, and high materialism were considered normal. Interracial marriage and divorces were an abomination in this time period and there was a major issue with racism in the 50s. Additionally, women were held to a different standard than men, they were to maintain the home and rear children, it was thought to be their only purpose. Furthermore, homosexuality was believed to be a sickness that could be cured, it was forbidden by society to be a homosexual. The 1960s counter-culture was all about rallying against these. This paper argues that despite the values of the 1950’s that the counterculture sought to reject, issues under the surface

    Read More

  • The New Revolution

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sexual revolution of the 1960’s made a big impact on society as a whole, changing and shaping it to much of what it has become today. Although this change has provided progress for the society it has also created new challenges that civilization must now face. Due to the new issues brought on by the previous sexual revolution it can be said that the sexual revolution is not yet over, as it is still revolutionizing society today. We are currently part of our own sexual revolution, one that deals with issues brought on by the previous one as well as issues that have never been tackled before, such as situations brought on by the relatively new media. This revolution seeks to change the opinions on women’s rights, sexuality and gender, and the social media. The sexual revolution is now, and it is affecting the North American society as a whole. It is widely known that society is ever-changing, so it is inevitable that new challenges will cause change; in a society that can never stay the same there can never be only one revolution. The sexual revolution of the 1960’s only served as a starting point for a plethora of sexual revolutions that are to come.

    Read More

More about Sexual Irreverence in Modern America

Open Document