The Sexual Revolution of the 1960's
The Sexual Revolution of the 1960's
Sex and the 1960's
The 1960's was a decade of many changes, revolutions, and experiments including the sexual revolution brought on by the 'sixties generation'. Free love was a popular term coined in the later sixties that meant everyone should love each other, sexually and non sexually. This was the first time in history that sex was not something only men could enjoy but women too. What came from this revolution was birth control, knowledge of the female anatomy, the start to legalizing abortion, and woman’s liberation. These may all sound like common things to have or know about but at the time these were all groundbreaking and changed many lives.
The 1950's were extremely different from the 1960's, with many different beliefs and social norms. Men and women dated only to select a partner for marriage. The main goal for women at the time was to become a wife and a mother instead of pursuing her own pleasures. Women were conditioned from early childhood to become a housewife. Women were also expected to be virgins until they got married which kept them from any kind of sexual experimentation or experience. Women were only to have one sexual partner their entire lives because divorce was not acceptable. Women also refrained from sex because the fear of becoming pregnant or getting diseases was overwhelming. These social norms for the 1950's supported the male dominance in sex; that only men were meant and supposed to enjoy it. Things would soon change in the upcoming decade.
In previous years men and women did not live together before marriage because it was not appropriate to be or sleep with a man whom you were not married to. With all the changes occurring at the time this soon changed as well. Many college students wanted an unstructured relationship instead of getting married right away. Bill, a graduate student from the University of California, who lived with his 'girlfriend' at the time had no idea or intentions of
Sex and the 1960's
The 1960's was a decade of many changes, revolutions, and experiments including the sexual revolution brought on by the 'sixties generation'. Free love was a popular term coined in the later sixties that meant everyone should love each other, sexually and non sexually. This was the first time in history that sex was not something only men could enjoy but women too. What came from this revolution was birth control, knowledge of the female anatomy, the start to legalizing abortion, and woman’s liberation. These may all sound like common things to have or know about but at the time these were all groundbreaking and changed many lives.
The 1950's were extremely different from the 1960's, with many different beliefs and social norms. Men and women dated only to select a partner for marriage. The main goal for women at the time was to become a wife and a mother instead of pursuing her own pleasures. Women were conditioned from early childhood to become a housewife. Women were also expected to be virgins until they got married which kept them from any kind of sexual experimentation or experience. Women were only to have one sexual partner their entire lives because divorce was not acceptable. Women also refrained from sex because the fear of becoming pregnant or getting diseases was overwhelming. These social norms for the 1950's supported the male dominance in sex; that only men were meant and supposed to enjoy it. Things would soon change in the upcoming decade.
In previous years men and women did not live together before marriage because it was not appropriate to be or sleep with a man whom you were not married to. With all the changes occurring at the time this soon changed as well. Many college students wanted an unstructured relationship instead of getting married right away. Bill, a graduate student from the University of California, who lived with his 'girlfriend' at the time had no idea or intentions of