Sexual Mores In America

Sex and the Automobile: An Analysis of American Sexual Mores If one were to look back 100 years in American history, he or she would see stark differences in societal standards and norms than those in place today. For one, the sexual mores in America have drastically changed. Things that were once considered deviant such as pre-marital sex or multiple partners are now normal or even standard. Yet we must ask ourselves, how exactly did these changes come to be? On the largest scales, it is easy to identify key transitions in American society that brought about social and political change. Things like the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries or the Sexual Revolution in the 1960s and 70s help explain how our way of
Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company (which still exists today), revolutionized the mass production techniques of earlier distributors by using conveyor belt assembly lines with stationary workers to quickly produce cars in a matter of minutes. This frenetic pace and large scale distribution made cars available and affordable to the general public, as many other Michigan factories began to adopt the same assembly line procedures and policies. The automobile industry dominated the 1910s and 20s and the public saw widespread production of cars that were sold at affordable prices. The rise in the popularity of the car also led to major improvements in the American road system in efforts to keep up with the pace of producers and consumers. The mostly dirt trails were difficult to navigate in the automobile, causing the roads to be converted to wide gravel or pavement streets and freeways. Recognizing the need for more efficient travel, road construction was funded at the federal level by The Federal Aid Road Acts of 1916 and 1921. Consumers quickly fell in love with the automobile and its convenience, driving cars off the lot as soon as they were able to afford
Yet, the automobile seemed to have the greatest impact in the changing picture. As Mary Poovey, cultural historian and author of “Sex in America”, points out, “sexual behavior is shaped by our social surroundings” (372). There were numerous other details and components in the twentieth century that were key in shaping our current sexual conventions, such as advancements in contraception, public education, sex education, and the spread of sex in popular culture through movies, music, television, and fashion. However, the automobile seemed to be the most evident tool that had a direct effect on not just sexual behavior, but also human behavior as a whole. In the book The Automobile and American Life, John Hietmann writes that “as early as the first decade of the twentieth century, the automobile was equated with adventure, including and perhaps especially sexual adventure” (91). The car changed the way humans move and interact within social spaces and physical locations. Before the rise of social media, the automobile was the greatest contributor to the growth in social circles. These social circles were very open and loose, much like the ones today. The automobile, in combination with shifting political and social attitudes, provide the perfect spark for a transition in “sexual behaviors” because it