What Is The Value of Life, Pt. 8: Sex

Summary: I am a child of the 60s, a period known in part as the sexual awakening and culture revolution. To some extent, that label is inaccurate. The actual sexual revolution of the 20th century began earlier as a strong push on hygiene reduced the occurrence of venereal disease, opening the door to more liberated opinions especially among women. From flappers to bohemians to so-called “butch” lesbians, the early 1900s laid a necessary foundation for the open exploration that grandchildren would explore. [<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3177789">Source</a>] By the early 1970s, names such as <a href="https://kinseyinstitute.org/">Kinsey</a>, <a href="https://kinseyinstitute.org/collections/archival/masters-and-johnson.php">Masters and Johnson</a>, <a href="http://playboy.com">Playboy</a>, <a href="https://penthousemagazine.com/">Penthouse</a>, <a href="https://www.hustler.com/">Hustler</a> (NSFW), and <a href="https://www.warhol.org/">Andy Warhol</a> were all associated with the liberalization of sexual attitudes. Tossed into that mix, “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-and-sexual-revolution/">the pill</a>” gave women more control over their own bodies, igniting a debate that, sadly still continues. This led to an array of Supreme Court decisions that opened the doors to personal freedoms. <a href="http://supreme.justia.com/us/381/479/case.html">Griswold vs. Connecticut (1965)</a> established a right to privacy within married relationships. <a href="http://supreme.justia.com/us/405/438/case.html">Eisenstadt vs. Baird (1972)</a> extended the right of privacy to any procreative sexual intercourse, regardless of relationship status. Those two decisions were critical in the court’s decision on <a href="http://supreme.justia.com/us/410/113/case.html">Roe vs. Wade</a> and also came into play in 2003 when <a href="http://supreme.justia.com/us/539/558/case.html">Lawrence vs. Texas</a> established a fundamental right to consensual homosexual activity. Courts during this period were a critical part of opening the doors to not only sexual awakening but sexual understanding and exploitation. 1969’s <a href="http://supreme.justia.com/us/394/557/case.html">Stanley vs. Georgia</a> set forth a right to private possession of “obscene materials,” and a unanimous decision in <a href="https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/drawing-justice-courtroom-illustrations/about-this-exhibition/significant-and-landmark-cases/satire-is-protected-free-speech/">Hustler vs. Falwell</a> in 1998 secured the right of sexual parody by a publication. Music from the latter half of the 20th century echoes the new openness in talking, at least euphemistically, about sex. Paul McCartney isn’t talking about the diner menu when he mentions “finger pies” in <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1h04XMpzGzmAudoI6VHBgA?autoplay=true">Penny Lane</a>. ZZ Top’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/4anJfhuQLpdg637D6wt0cL?autoplay=true">Pearl Necklace</a> barely concealed its fluid reference. Starland Vocal Band left little to the imagination in <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3uLk0uQ4zMS26h89Of8XOD?autoplay=true">Afternoon Delight</a>. Then along came Madonna’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1ZPlNanZsJSPK5h9YZZFbZ?autoplay=true">Like A Virgin</a>, Prince’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3ydVuzJ4wOOvoNYYuhVZtM?autoplay=true">Little Red Corvette</a>, and topping it all off, George Michael’s <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6QnFHieoch6U9J8zfv6hml?autoplay=true">I Want Your Sex</a>. Each step of the way, politicians, mothers, and preachers around the world, from Tipper Gore to Jerry Falwell, denounced the music. As a result, the <a href="https://flashbak."></a>

What Is The Value of Life, Pt. 8: Sex

Directory

Click for all Categories