Changing Attitudes Raise New Questions
“SEXUAL REVOLUTION,” “sexplosion,” “moral revolution.” Such terms heralded changing attitudes toward sexuality, especially in the mid-1960’s and thereafter. Many adopted the slogan “free love,” which characterized a life-style in which individuals rejected marriage and virginity.
Author Ernest Hemingway’s manifesto, “What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after,” may well sum up the attitude of those caught up in promises of sexual freedom and fulfillment. Acceptance of this philosophy justified short-term sexual relationships with several partners through which the individuals, male and female, explored their own sexuality. Sexual “fulfillment” knew no bounds. The contraceptive pill, introduced in the same decade, contributed to further uninhibited sexual experimentation.
However, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases became the legacy of this promiscuous life-style. The sexual attitudes of a loose generation were shaken. Some years ago, Time magazine displayed the headline “Sex in the ’80s—The Revolution Is Over.” This proclamation was based primarily on the rampant sexually transmitted diseases that had affected many Americans. To date, the total number of AIDS cases throughout the world has reached a staggering figure of nearly 30 million!
The fear of sexually transmitted diseases prompted a further shift in the attitude of many toward short-term sexual relationships. A 1992 issue of US, an entertainment magazine, reporting on a government survey, stated: “About 6.8 million single women have made changes in their sexual behavior in response to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.” According to the article, the message is clear: “Sex is serious business. Participate at your own risk.”
How have these turbulent decades affected attitudes toward sexual relationships? Have any lessons been learned from the reckless abandon characterized by the free love of recent decades and from the sobering realities of sexually transmitted diseases of the ’80’s? Has the introduction of sex education in the public schools helped young men and women cope successfully with their sexuality? What is the best way to face the challenge of today’s changed attitudes toward sexuality?