The sexual revolution refers to the social movement that altered traditional relationship dynamics, societal norms pertaining to how we treat human sexuality. The general consensus as to when the social movement started was in the 1960’s.
The development of hormonal contraception coupled with the rise of second wave feminism kicked it off. Hormonal contraception in itself wasn’t a bad idea, there are therapeutic indications for hormonal contraception aside from “I want to have sexytime with randoms and I don’t like condoms, so I’m going to behave like a moron and prey I don’t catch an STD but at the same time I’m not going to take any precautions.”
There is the argument some STD’s are on track to becoming obsolete. HIV is due to become extinct over the next few decades and other STD’s are becoming less and less of an issue as medical technology has advanced as to make presentations relatively asymptomatic and/or very easily treatable. Whereas a few decades before the 60’s syphilis could cause insanity… It could kill you…
These variables within themselves don’t encompass the sexual revolution. The revolution refers to our social dynamic, our moral fabric fundamentally changing. The increase in single parent households, children born without parents to raise them, failed marriages, misandric societal sentiment, social repercussions via friendships/relationships destroyed through “cOnSeQuEnCe FrEe SeXyTiMeZ”.
The most interesting aspect of the perceived utopia youth counterculture was trying to envision was/is the median number of sexual partners per person hardly changed. People aren’t having less sex, I believe you’ve alluded to this prospect. Hypergamy leading to isolated and rejected men, however surveys are indicative the mean number of sexual partners has almost remained stagnant since the 1940’s, and men consistently score a higher body count on average. But you’d think a ‘FrEe MaRkEt’ would lead to more sex. This is only the case for the most attractive and/or successful individuals.
Some argue the sexual revolution started in the 1920s with the advent of flappers, I’d argue only the most socially conservative of people actually believe this. Flappers were socially stigmatised, they weren’t accepted with open arms. The true definition of the revolution infers a paradigm where promiscuity isn’t stigmatised, the 1920’s doesn’t entail this.
The sexual revolution by definition doesn’t go back thousands of years either. Paradigm shifts occur, the pendulum swings back and forth. You have societies founded before Christianity was even on the map that broke down due to degeneracy and unchecked hedonism. This isn’t equitable to a sexual revolution of its own, the sexual revolution was the advent of birth control + second wave feminism enforcing a societal construct promoting promiscuity.
The good things that came out of the sexual revolution were
- a focus on female pleasure, sex needn’t be one sided
- advancements in medical technology. Medications like Allylestrenol wouldn’t have been developed otherwise… A medication used as a preventative measure against those at risk of miscarriage.
The rest, in my perspective is problematic. But despite being generally pessimistic I’m not quite as pessimistic as you are about this because I believe this is a phase. The pendulum swings… Only I hope the next swing will eventuate in a middle ground akin to 1950’s culture without the racism/discriminatory attitudes as opposed to society turning into a sexually repressed hellscape that neither of us would be remotely happy in.
If you believe elements of the sexual revolution have been around for thousands of years, I ask you (without judgement)… What era would you perceive as optimal? We are referring to a utopian ideal. When would you have rather been born and raised?
In this utopian ideal, how is sexuality viewed? How many restrictions are present over sexual activity? Are we going to restrict the positions one can copulate in? What you can and can’t do with your wife behind closed doors? What age are we going to allow people to tie the knot? It’s a silly expectation to expect people to stay chaste until they’re in their mid twenties. What if two partners have a relationship that is irrevocably broken? What is the divorce policy for abusive, toxic relationships or adultery? How do you stop premarital sex from ever occuring? Finally… If we refer to your ideal (no judgement) how do you envision this affecting the dating scene relative to today? Do you have a means to decrease the sheer level of insecurity many men and women harbour today? Do we have safeguards against toxic people? What about inter religious marriage? How do we deal with the familial conflict this can cause? If I brought home a non Jewish girl and told my family “I’m getting married!” I’d be in hot water…
I get where they’re coming from, without the mother being of Jewish heritage and/or converting, your child is no longer considered biologically Jewish from an orthodox perspective. He/she won’t be granted a bat/bar mitzvah at an orthodox synagogue. You/your family may be subject to ostracism by various sects of the community etc. This is where my issues come in with organised religion. From a fundamental standpoint, religion exists to instill positive morale/values. But it’s very much “my way or the highway” and if you stray… Good luck and goodbye…
So… If we are to build a society constructed around religious law, how do we get around this when it comes to dating? I don’t like the “keep to your own kind” trope as it is reminiscent of segregation. I find such a practice barbaric and immoral. You can’t preach morality yet separate people by force on the basis of religious affiliation (not referring to you… Talking about generalities).
What of the people like myself who believe in (most) of the moral fundamentals imposed by (most) religions, but I don’t have any reason to believe what occured in the Torah/Bible actually occured. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t… I don’t have blind faith and utter devotion, I’ve never seen any proof that would have me infer the stories are real, but I’ve seen a good deal of proof on the contrary, with the theory of evolution (it’s not ‘just a theory’ either) being the most damning. I see the stories as a means to impose good morals. What happens to my demographic? To note, no judgement… I won’t even get angry if you say “Pack them on horseback and send them out to the desert!'”
I think when we are unhappy with the current status quo, frequently we develop a false, utopian and fantasical frame of reference over how other societies might have been like.
The perfect society we are looking for… It doesn’t exist. I highly doubt biblical times entailed an easy, trauma free lifestyle. There are better options to that of what we have today, but these options existed in the past.
I also happen to believe the sexual revolution played a role re societal decay… But it was far from the only variable at hand. I don’t think those who adhere to modern western social norms are bad people either. If you’ve been misled or indoctrinated… Is it your fault? I don’t think so…
Finally, I will mention this. Centralised control over the population incurred through the use of government in modern times has NEVER led to high populational satisfaction/quality of life. Look at the happiest, most prosperous countries on earth. America doesn’t even rank, but one can see none of the top countries are authoritarian regimes.
Centralised control and force works. But it involves going against what the masses want. It is cruel and tyrannical; and while it may work; it doesn’t lead to a high degree of populational happiness.
Aside from Singapore, which DT79 has touched on why it works over there and only over there… I’d challenge you to find one modern authoritarian state with a happy population, one that isn’t guilty of countless violations of basic human rights and isn’t the brunt of widespread condemnation.
A utopian ideal takes the geopolitical element out of the equation
I’m not trying to be condescending. I’m curious as to whether you have a detailed proposal for a framework that could improve things. I think society is too divided at the moment, and my proposal is to set up separate (albeit not segregated, tourism/visiting is a-okay, but you need to take accountability for your own actions) communities.
