HOW THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION PAVED THE WAY FOR A NEW SOCIETY FOR WOMEN

Susannah Brandt (WHS) In the 1960s the Women’s Rights movement began to evolve, and as women started challenging their roles in society, in both the home and the workplace, they also began to question traditional sexual roles.

For many feminists at the time, the sexual revolution was simply about sexual empowerment and the reclaiming of women’s bodies through sexual freedom. The concept that women, like men, had sexual desires and needs was completely radical at the time and received a lot of backlash from social conservatives who believed this would become a breeding ground for promiscuity, threatening one of America’s core ideas: the nuclear family.

The invention of the Pill in 1960, which kickstarted the movement, was also followed by severe resistance. The Pill allowed women to separate sex from procreation, without relying on men for protection, and encouraged women to be more open and free with their sexuality. Before the pill the risk of pregnancy and the social stigma which came with it prevented single women from having sex and married women from having affairs; the idea that this control over women’s sexuality would be given back to women terrified social conservatives. The author Pearl Buck stated that the Pill’s ‘potential effect on our society may be even more devastating that the nuclear bomb.’ And one magazine article refers to the Pill as encouraging ‘sexual anarchy’. Despite this controversy the Pill was still made available for married women in 1961 and became the catalyst and figurehead for the Sexual Revolution. It was only given to unmarried women in 1974 when family planning clinics were allowed to prescribe them.

The introduction of the Pill was revolutionary, not only for reproduction rights, but also for women’s place in society. Dame Valerie Bernal, a professor at Oxford University stated that the Pill was the ‘most important thing in the latter half of the century – no question about it’. Coming from a society dictated by wars and social change, this statement carries huge weight in favour of the importance of the Pill and sexual health. Due to the Pill early marriages or ‘Shotgun’ marriages reduced as the necessity of marriage declined, therefore the number of children being born each year sharply declined and the average age of motherhood suddenly increased. This meant that in general women had more time for their own ambitions and enjoyment, such as work and education. For the first time women were able to focus on careers rather than children, dramatically changing the workplace and enforcing the idea of equality in the job market. The Pill also reduced stigma surrounding sexual health and opened up conversation surrounding safe sex. This increased the number of women going for medical check ups and allegedly reduced the likely hood of getting cancer of the womb or ovaries. Finally the sexual revolution also opened doors surrounding the idea of sexual freedom and ‘free love’ which helped other movements such as the Gay Rights movement gain support and recognition in society, allowing for a more liberal and accepting atmosphere.

The sexual revolution was drastically radical, due to the introduction of the Pill and the increased awareness for sexual health and free sex. This all contributed to the wider Women’s Rights movement and society as a whole, creating an increasingly liberal and open world for women to live and work in.

Bibliography:

Anonymous (2013) The Pill and the Sexual Revolution. PBS.org

Rachel Hills (2014). What every Generation Gets Wrong About Sex. Time.com

Anonymous (2007) The evolution of the Pill. Weebly. com

Rebecca Cafe (2011). How the Contraceptive Pill changed Britain BBC News

Images Sources:

Kisses: https://time.com/3611781/sexual-revolutionrevisited/

The Pill: https://tenthingsthepill.weebly.com/design-packaging. html