"A new, sexualized popular culture pervaded American life in the 1970s, and it seemed that everyone wanted to be part of it. Watching a porn film at the local theater, flipping through a sex advice manual in line at the grocery store, dancing the hustle at a glittery discotheque—all were markers of sexual sophistication." [source]As a die hard enthusiast of the 1970's (I've lived through it, I've been obsessed with it for the past twenty years, and now I write about it nearly every day), the one thing that stands out more than any other is the sexual revolution. It's not that I have a one-track mind focused on sex- the fact that this blog is rated PG demonstrates that I don't focus on heavy sexual material.... but if you're being an honest historian, you've got to spend a good deal of time on the defining trend of the decade. The stark contrast from the decade prior and the decade after is unbelievable. Digging through old magazines and newspapers as I do almost every day, it becomes abundantly clear that if you had to use one word to describe the decade it could only be S-E-X.
This quote sums the whole thing up nicely:
"The so-called sexual revolution was considered by many to be the most shocking social trend in the 1970s. The sexual revolution, an outgrowth of the counterculture, cast aside traditional sexual restraints and began a decade of alternative eroticism, experimentation, and promiscuity. In part facilitated by the development of the birth-control pill and other contraceptives, Americans in the 1970s broke many sexual taboos. Interracial dating, open homosexuality, communal living, casual nudity, and dirty language all seemed to indicate a profound change in sexual behavior. Sexual activity among the young especially increased. Surveys during the 1970s reported that by age nineteen, four-fifths of all males and two-thirds of all females had had sex. Fashion designers promoted a new sensuality, producing miniskirts, hot pants, halter tops, and formfitting clothes designed to accentuate women's sexuality." [source]
April 1969
Given that the 1970s is the primary decade addressed at Retrospace, it's a wonder that there's not graphic sexual content in every post. I think people underestimate the impact of the sexual revolution - the impact from the birth control pill alone was a titanic cultural shift. Add to the mix legalized abortion and millions of Baby Boomers reaching their sexual prime, and you have a freaking sexual tidal wave on your hands!
When Did It Occur?
But what about the 1960's, wasn't that decade all about free love? Yes and no. It's always dangerous to assign characteristics and trends to a particular decade - as if the world abruptly changed on January 1st, 1970. Life is not affected by our arbitrary determination of years and decades. Indeed, 1969 looked very much like 1970 and 1980 looked very much like 1979, if you catch my meaning. When talking about history, it is convenient to package things in nice neat decades - but life is much more messy, with trends spilling over into adjacent decades.
The sexual revolution certainly began prior to 1970: the pill actually hit the scene in the 1960's, Hugh Hefner's playboy lifestyle before that, and the infamous Kinsey Report before that.... you could even go further back to Sigmund Freud and Margaret Sanger in the early 1900's. In fact, you could probably keep tracing it back and back and back - every trend had an origin somewhere, and that origin had it's origin somewhere else, and so on. However, I submit to you this fitting analogy:
If previous decades were foreplay, then the 1970's was penetration.
There, I said it.
