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Ideology and Sexuality among Victorian Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Nancy S. Landale  and
Avery M. Guest
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Extract

In recent years, American society has engaged in what is frequently described as a “sexual revolution” involving significant changes in relationships between men and women. As a result of extensive social surveys, we know that both specific behaviors and the prevailing ideology regarding appropriate standards of behavior have been subject to rapid change. In the past two decades, rates of sexual intercourse and intimacy have increased (Hunt, 1974; Westoff, 1974), use of effective contraception has become widespread, and it is increasingly accepted that a physical and emotional attraction between members of the opposite sex might lead to a sexual relationship. In short, participation in sexual activity has come to be seen as a natural outgrowth of the enjoyment of sex.

Type
Research Article
Information
Social Science History , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , Summer 1986 , pp. 147 - 170
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 1986 

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