Sexuality: “The Sexual Revolution” The sexual revolution happened during the 1960’s and although I’m sure that close to none of us have heard of it, it was a huge impact on American history and is the reason why our society is the way it is now. It happened at least 55 years ago but the outcome of it can be seen in many of our cultures today; it changed the way we see, express, and think about sexuality. During the 1960’s, John F. Kennedy became president of the United States (and was also assassinated years later), there was a fight for civil rights; the sexual revolution wasn’t as quickly noticed as the other historical moments but was still just as important. Alfred Kinsey was an important figure during the sexual revolution, this is because …show more content…
The birth control pill was made to help women from having kids (while on the pill) because back in the 1960’s married women went through multiple pregnancies and this took quite a toll on their physical and mental health. It wasn’t just to control the births of American women, but also the women in foreign third world countries, seeing as they were already beginning to be overpopulated and living mostly in poverty. According to A Critique of the Sexual Revolution: Once the new ethic of limited birth was established, the exploitative use of abortion and sterilization became possible. Contraception, abortion, and sterilization are now major weapons in the arsenal of the U.S.’ Agency for International Development (AID). One must add that all people have the right to abortions, but as they so determine from their personal and familial necessities, note state coercion (A Critique of the Sexual Revolution. 2013. Page 29). It was a usual thought that you had to get married and have kids but I don’t think they kept in mind the possibility of stillborn babies, miscarriages, or things along those lines. The creation of the pill, gave more sexual freedom for women. WOMEN AND
Kinsey, a film written and directed by Bill Condon, chronicles the story of well renowned human sexuality researcher Alfred Kinsey, and his struggles of being the first to study what was considered a taboo subject back in that time period. The film does a great job of not only telling his story, but it also integrating real theories from psychology and sociology.
Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood by Kristen Luker, analyzes the historical and complex sociology of abortion. Luker focuses on three important factors: a historical overview of abortion, the pro-life and pro-choice views, and the direction the abortion debates are going (11, Luker, Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood p. 000). Abortion has always been seen as murder and with the idea that those who are already living have more rights. Back in the days, the laws didn’t give fetus personhood. Also, the laws against abortions weren’t strictly enforced upon anyone. In addition, abortion didn’t seem to be a huge problem, which explains why abortion was ignored in the past.
Backhouse, Constance B. "Involuntary motherhood: abortion, birth control and the law in nineteenth century Canada." Windsor YB Access Just. 3 (1983): 61.
Although birth control and other forms of contraceptives did not fully become legal until the 1960’s they had been developed nearly seventy years earlier in the forms the are still prevalent today (Birth Control in America). The modern condom, or “...rubber was invented in 1870, but [it] was not the thin latex type…” that is currently prevalent in our society (Hoag Levins 2). An early form of the birth control pill, which Margaret Sanger advocated, was also in existence in the very late 1800’s (Birth Control in America). Contraception was considered an ethical issue, in that the majority of Americans believed it was a form of abortion and therefor it was considered amoral (Birth Control in America). The laws of Sanger's day “...forced women into celibacy on one hand, or abortion on the other" (Sanger B 3). Why did it take so long to spread and legalize something with the potential to better the lives and life styles of women and families in the early 1900’s? It could be partially attributed to the attitude of politicians of the time. President Theodore Roosevelt said "...that the American people would be committing racial suicide"(Birth Control in America). Roosevelt shared a belief, held by the majority of politicians at the time, that families of America should act, as Roosevelt put it "servants of the state; and should provide Children to build national st...
When legally introduced to society in 1960, the Pill stirred up a long period of controversy. The availability of the Pill had great impact on women’s health, social life, laws, religion, family, relationships, morality and sexuality. Initially conceived to be highly effective and safe, the Pill left many women with side effects – few which led to several fatalities. Before the Pill was created, many women postponed sex due to the social norm and fear of becoming pregnant before marriage. Families grew large and it was typical for a woman to have multiple children caused by the lack of birth control. Due to regulations, such as the Comstock laws, many people supported the prohibition of the Pill and other family planning practices. However, many women believed in the right to control their own body when it came to procreation. Despite the controversies, the Pill left lasting impacts, such as by opening society to the sexual revolution and...
Birth control pills gave women the right to be in charge of their own conception or lack thereof.
Lastly, to attain birth control, you should learn about it first. Some adults do not know how much priorities they will be faced with due to unsafe sexual intercourse. People who have the benefit of obtaining education regarding birth control are much more capable of deciding when they will start a family and how big it will be. Birth control is not only beneficial to those taking it and their relatives, but also the whole world, because it enhances the morality of society.
Until the mid 1800s, abortion was unrestricted and unregulated in the United States. The justifications for criminalizing it varied from state to state. One big reason was population control, which addressed fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly ...
Birth Control has always been a topic of controversy in America, generating large opposition and actions to regulate it. The regulation of any form of birth control was made final with the Comstock Act being passed in 1873 that was a, “federal law that made it a crime to sell or distribute materials that could be used for contraception or abortion”. This act created by and enacted by Anthony Comstock, caused a long and troubling path for feminists attempting to break the patriarchal society and gain the freedom to control their own bodies and choices. The virdict was supported throughout the years and by the 1950s many opinions of religious people, political persons, and most men who accepted traditional gender roles continued on the path of
These birth control methods make semi-safe sex possible. *** A ban on birth control would mean acts of unprotected intercourse because the lack of protection wouldn’t stop people from having sex. Therefore women who might not be responsible enough for children or just didn’t want them would end up aborting the children they just simply weren’t ready to have. (Dail)
The first form of birth control came in the form a pill and was approved by the FDA in 1960(qtd in Gladwell ) The pill was said to be the safest form of birth control because it was safe and said to be a natural form of birth control. John Rock was a well know man around the community. Loretta McLaughlin writes, "It was his name and his reputation that gave ultimate validity to the claims that the pill would protect women against unwanted pregnancy.”(qdt in Gladwell) Even back then, with all the research that they set out to do the pill was still know to cause cancer in young women, not only cancer but the miscarrying of children shortly after taking the pill.
Throughout time sex has been used for the human species to reproduce. When birth control was invented, sex was no longer just for reproduction. Children, especially before birth control was invented, were often times the result of sexual relations. If children were born to parents who were not married, they were considered illegitimate and legitimate to parents who were married. Society has changed how it views sex in regards to who should have sex with whom and for what purpose.
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
As one knows, some unwanted pregnancies could often be harmful and distressing for a woman. Women should have the right over their body to choose to sustain the fetus or not. In the past decades, women did not have their freedom of abortion in many countries of the world. There have always been controversies going on about abortion. Each individual has dissimilar views on the legality of abortion. Some people are against abortion for personal religious purposes and beliefs. For those who don’t believe in abortion, it is because they see it as killing a fetus, which is a human being. Others support abortion because they believe in women’s rights. Laws of abortion vary in each country, and abortion is not legal all over the world. It is illegal under any conditions but only permitted to save woman’s life if in countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, and Ireland. However, abortion is legal without any restrictions in countries like Canada, Albania, and Italy. It the past decades Abortion was considered as criminal act in Canada. “If an abortion was carried out without such approval, the woman was liable for imprisonment for 2 years, an...
It is almost unanimously agreed upon that the right to life is the most important and sacred right possessed by human beings. With this being said, it comes as no surprise that there are few issues that are more contentious than abortion. Some consider the process of abortion as immoral and consisting of the deprivation of one’s right to life. Others, on the opposite end of the spectrum, see abortion as a liberty and a simple exercise of the right to the freedom of choice.