Was the Sexual Revolution Revolutionary?

By Tara Adriana Jenkins [Edited by Heloise Devaney-Jones]

The Sexual Revolution arguably marked the stage in which post-war Britain became more open and comfortable with discussing sexual norms. Individuals like Angela Carter, a feminist novelist, have argued that 1960 marked the point in history for Britain where this took place, with the availability of the pill and the publishing of Lady Chatterley’s Lover taking place in this decade. Such arguably ‘progressive’ changes in society, leading to the acceptance of sex outside of marriage, allowed for many individuals in society to freely act as they wished with their own bodies, gaining a newfound confidence. However, whilst all of these points did allow certain groups in society to gain liberation at the time, one must consider that this revolution did not discuss the experiences of minority groups but rather white, often married, women. Those that argued against contraception, once accepting it, shifted the stigmas they once held for unmarried women onto ‘school-girls’ having sex. Thus, we will look at two key areas, privacy and pre-marital sex, and how these two areas of social life would change after the period of 1960 both economically and politically. These areas would lead to a sexual revolution that socially progressed white middle-class women greatly. As a result, failing to take into consideration how minority groups had different experiences of sexuality and how this could be transferred into a sexual revolution that was revolutionary for its inclusivity as well as progressive ideas.

Traditional Values in a Post-War Britain

Changes as a result of the sexual revolution in both privacy and pre-marital sex meant that individuals were more open to discussing and engaging in sexual activities, this can be assessed through the comparison with attitudes prior to the 1960s. One particular aspect that was common amongst many married couples before the sexual revolution was the importance of privacy, allowing these couples to see themselves as a ‘distinct and separate unit from wider society.’[1] By doing so, an intimate bond was created, separate from experiences in other social relationships. In 1950, when Mass Observation published a summary of their ‘Little Kinsey’ sex survey in Public Opinion Quarterly, individuals were so confused ‘they had no idea what sexual practices normal or common place were.’[2] With individuals being taught through one’s own experiences in their marriage it is evident that sex education prior to the sexual revolution was something taught later in life. Second, state involvement in marriage and sex-related issues was not as evident to the levels seen after the revolution.

Another aspect that was particularly common before the sexual revolution, was the level of abstinence amongst couples, with many waiting until marriage. ‘Woodside and Slater’s research found that 45% of husbands and 64% of wives from the control group in the 1930’s claimed to be virgins upon marriage.’[3] This could have largely been due to contraception not being widely accessible to all with doctors' reluctance to give as well as working-class women’s reluctance to use, the diaphragm, a barrier method of contraceptive. If accessible, Family Planning Association Clinics would only supply such contraception to ‘married women, or engaged women, who could supply evidence of an impending marriage.’[4] The high regard this generation of heterosexuals couples had on both privacy and virginity before marriage could lead to the assumption that they had traditional moral values. However, it must be noted there was a clear difference in working-class and middle-class responses to intercourse before marriage, with the working-class having greater acceptability whilst still regarding privacy as important and necessary between couples. Privacy and pre-marital sex could be seen as being challenged during the 1960s with the promotion of sex through consumerism as well as greater access to contraception leading to the view that this period was revolutionary.

Rise of Contraception

The introduction of the pill in 1961 was arguably one of the biggest events for the sexual revolution, which would in turn affect married heterosexuals as well as shifting the conversation on contraception from the private to the public sphere. The British Medical Association, once unsure of the use of barrier contraceptives, had a largely positive response in regard to the pill as it had the ability to create a large profit. The pill became the ‘only drug which doctors were permitted to charge their NHS patients a fee’[5] if the purpose of use was not given for medical reasons, as Murphy states 1971 1.8 million women were using it, compared to ‘just 480,000 in 1964 upon its introduction.’ This highlights two things: first, that the pill allowed women to gain rights over their body, and second, there would be limits on who would have access to this, particularly the working-class. This in turn leads to the idea that the pill may have largely become a middle-class phenomenon. This class were able to gain control over their body due to their privilege to afford the costs, whilst others could not, resulting in a class distinction within the sexual revolution. It must be noted however that free advice and contraceptives became available in 1974 from clinics and in 1975 from GP’s which would have created greater inclusions for different classes of women as well as increasing the level of state-involvement through free-prescription. However, its introduction in the mid-1970s meant that the sexual revolution was something that occurred over a long period. As such one may consider such social and political changes were expected to happen as society became more modern rather than as a result of a sexual revolution.

Whilst heterosexual couples did account for a large demographic at the time, with ‘marriages per 1000 unmarried men in 1960 being 60%,’[6] the sexual revolution shows a negligence to minority groups and their presence in sexual politics. The LGBT+ community, whilst able to use the pill for medical reasons, had no reason to use it for their own sexual experiences. This is because they were unable to marry at the time, so pre-marital-sex was not a risk, and even so, there would be no risk of pregnancy in a same-sex relationship. Minority women’s experiences with contraception were considerably different compared to white women, where Depo-Provera, an inject-method contraception, was given to women of colour largely due to its untested but long-lasting effects. As Bryan suggests, the role of contraception in increasing women’s rights in Britain meant that for black women becoming ‘objects of research when new forms of birth control needed to be tested.’[7] Thus the revolutionary development for white-women was through damaging health risks of minority women. In turn, the pill was only revolutionary to heterosexual white women as it allowed

for the experience of sexuality to be separate from the act of reproduction through safe and tested means.

Sex as a Private Matter

The 1960s was a time in which the privacy of sex between couples became challenged through pop culture and the media, conversations on the topic were no longer bound by the sanctity of marriage but discussed by young people and the media freely. These two players of society are important, as the next generation, if youth challenge the traditional values then we can indeed assume this period of time was revolutionary as their views would hold significance in what is considered the norm in the future. Couples married prior to the 1960s and thus more traditional in their view of privacy could have seen their way of life being threatened by such media, the concept of ‘sex sells’ made many married couples come to be aware of different sexual experiences to their own. Within popular culture, there was a clear discussion of the ‘nice girl’ ‘trope that was prevalent during their adolescence’[8] which was largely linked to the idea of femininity being gentle, good and chaste, as discussed by Greer Fox in the 1970s, whether it be challenging the idea or suggesting girls should follow it. This concept acknowledged the existence of extra-marital sex and that it could indeed be enjoyable however, boys ‘did not want to marry girls who had reputations for being scrubbers.’[9] This sexual culture thus suggests that even during the years of the sexual revolution for women, stages of life were expected for them to one day result in becoming married and mothers.

Sexual Culture in Magazines – Spare Rib and Cosmopolitan

Magazines like Spare Rib challenged such patriarchal ideas, which focused on encouraging a woman’s own control of her body through experiencing her sexuality through ways that did not have men only experiencing pleasure. This new Women’s Liberation movement gave women the chance to have ‘collectively shared personal stories’[10] in turn finding that ‘each woman’s sexual life resonated with others.’[11] Sex became something to be discussed

between friends and by doing so, the patriarchy and male dominance many experienced within it became unravelled through conversation. Whilst Spare Rib became a magazine that ‘confronted accepted ideas of what real sex was’[12] popular magazines such as Cosmopolitan encouraged the accepted idea that sex was to ‘please your man.’[13]

Although both Spare Rib and Cosmopolitan held different stances on how sexuality should be approached, both created a platform in which sex was in some way or another being discussed outside the private sphere of marriage, individuals were in this time more than ever able to pick up a magazine off the shelf and find out a new opinion on sex or dating. Sex became an item of consumerism not only in magazines but films too. In, Don’t Talk to Strange Men, ‘Jean is not represented as an awkward teenager, but her adolescence is marked most notably by romantic fantasies.’[14] Fink and Tinkler note that British films would display through their use of hairstyles and clothes to identify the ‘different stages of female maturation’[15] but also the risk to sexual innocence. Thus, it is evident that while sex became something that could be sold across British society it ultimately led to the stigmatisation of pre-marital sex being transferred to young ‘promiscuous’ girls. With this institution being challenged it also meant that the patriarchal society it was linked to was to also be challenged. Consequently, we could see British media at this time presenting various ‘perceptions of teenage girls’ relationships to sexual risk’[16] in hopes that parents would protect and teach their young daughters their own views on the importance of marriage and innocence. With more Britons consuming television and film in their daily lives, through cinemas, and at home, its role in shaping public opinion is largely significant. However, we must consider the lack of minority representation in British media throughout history and whether such audiences would be influenced by its ideas if they did not see themselves within it. Therefore, the rise of sex culture across British media could be seen as being

revolutionary only so far in creating a platform for both Women’s Movements at the time and for those who still upheld traditional values to speak their view.

In conclusion, the sexual revolution challenged traditional ideas relating to privacy and pre-marital sex. This was more so true for married heterosexual couples rather than other groups in society. As noted, whilst the pill as a contraceptive was incredibly successful in creating the freedom to engage in pre-marital sex for middle-class white women, it did not do the same for other groups like lesbian and gay people or minority groups. It’s effects on minority women in particular led to harm on their health and freedom to reproduce from this. Further, whilst the pill’s pivotal role in changing society’s attitudes to pre-marital sex for those already with their partner, it created a new concern with another sub-group of society, young girls. What is evident prior to the sexual revolution and indeed afterwards, is that stigmas in society revolving around sex have continuously been related to women and what they are ‘allowed’ to do with their bodies. Through media, women were able to learn both sides of such a debate through feminist organisations and those who still held traditional values, in turn taking the conversation away from just the sphere of marriage and into a public debate, allowing education on sex politics at a younger age. The sexual revolution was thus revolutionary in its efforts to bring forth voices encouraging female empowerment. However, its inability to be inclusive of women’s minority groups of the LGBT+, BAME and working-class communities meant that it was most revolutionary to women’s issues that related to middle-class white women.

Notes:

[1] Szreter, S and Fisher, K., Sex before the Sexual Revolution: Intimate Life in England 1918-1963 (Cambridge, UK, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p.348.

[2] Szreter and Fisher, Sex before the sexual revolution: intimate life in England 1918-1963, p.347.

[3] Szreter and Fisher, Sex before the sexual revolution: intimate life in England 1918-1963, p.118.

[4] Cook, Hera, The Long Sexual Revolution: English Women, Sex, and Contraception, 1800-1975 (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), p.279.

[5] Cook, H (2004) ‘The Long Sexual Revolution: English women, sex and contraception, 1800-1975’ p.281.

[6] Laffin, D (2013) ‘Enquiring History: British Society since 1945’ p. 70

[7] Bryan, B., Dadzie, S., Scafe, S., Heart of the race: Black women's lives in Britain (London: Verso Books, 2018).

[8] Charnock, Hannah, ‘Teenage Girls, Female Friendship and The Making of the Sexual Revolution in England 1950-1980’ The Historical Journal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), p.10.

[9] Charnock, ‘Teenage Girls, Female Friendship and The Making of the Sexual Revolution in England 1950-1980’, p.10.

[10] O’Sullivan, S (n.d), Sex and Sexuality in Spare Rib, Retrieved 11 01, 2019 from https://www.bl.uk/spare-rib/articles/sex-and-sexuality-in-spare-rib

[11] O’Sullivan, S (n.d), Sex and Sexuality in Spare Rib.

[12] O’Sullivan, S (n.d), Sex and Sexuality in Spare Rib.

[13] O’Sullivan, S (n.d), Sex and Sexuality in Spare Rib.

[14] Fink, J. and Tinkler, P, ‘Teetering on the Edge: portraits of innocence, risk and young female sexualities in 1950s’ and 1960s' British cinema’ Women’s History Review, 26:1 (2017), p.17.

[15] Fink and Tinkler, ‘Teetering on the Edge: portraits of innocence, risk and young female sexualities in 1950s’ and 1960s' British cinema’, p.18.

[16] Fink and Tinkler, ‘Teetering on the Edge: portraits of innocence, risk and young female sexualities in 1950s’ and 1960s' British cinema’, p.21.

Bibliography:

Bryan, B., Dadzie, S., Scafe, S., Heart of the race: Black women's lives in Britain (London: Verso Books, 2018).

Charnock, Hannah, ‘Teenage Girls, Female Friendship and The Making of the Sexual Revolution in England 1950-1980’ The Historical Journal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Cook, Hera, The Long Sexual Revolution: English Women, Sex, and Contraception, 1800-1975 (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

Fink, J., Tinkler, P, ‘Teetering on the Edge: portraits of innocence, risk and young female sexualities in 1950s’ and 1960s' British cinema’ Women’s History Review, 26:1 (2017).

Laffin, D, Enquiring History: British Society since 1945 (Hodder Education, 2013).

Murphy, M, ‘The Contraceptive Pill and Women's Employment as Factors in Fertility Change in Britain 1963-1980: A Challenge to the Conventional View.’ Population Studies 47:2 (1993).

O’Sullivan, S (n.d), Sex and Sexuality in Spare Rib, Retrieved 11 01, 2019 from https://www.bl.uk/spare-rib/articles/sex-and-sexuality-in-spare-rib

Szreter, S and Fisher, K., Sex before the Sexual Revolution: Intimate Life in England 1918-1963 (Cambridge, UK, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010).