Sexual Revolution

Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and

In the time of the 1920s, a group of women decided that they were done being shown around like dolls and given no respect. These women wanted rights and to have independence, and to not constantly have to rely on a man to get the job done. They decided to get and hold onto steady jobs and became single, young, middle class women. These women were called flappers. They were ones who went to jazz clubs, vaudeville shows, and danced the Charleston. You could also find them smoking and drinking just like any other man would. Flappers extinguished any social double standards about women that was out there in that time. The look of that time was one that has stood out in history since it was first worn. Bobbed, shoulder length hair, loads of makeup,

“In any era, fashion is a reflection of the time and what is going on in the culture politically, socially and economically.”1 The 1920’s witnessed a variety of dramatic changes for women; these changes, such as shorter dresses and stronger attitudes occurred primarily after World War I in spite of the prolonged development of women 's’ rights through 1914 and 1920. With their new hair, fashion styles, and attitudes, women had started what became known as the “Flapper Era”.

People did not like the flappers dresses. They "emphatically rejected the style beginning in the 1920s because it did not show the curves of the female body." Their dress was a "boxy shape that hung straight from the shoulders and fell in an unbroken line just below the knees." This type of dress "looked best on flat-chested, small-hipped androgyne who has come to typify the freewheeling, emancipated, working 'Mew Woman ' of the world." Women were "no longer constrained by corsets and long skirts, nor by the discomfort and time it took to dress oneself in such styles." Their dresses had a "loose cut and shirt hemline [which] allowed women unprecedented freedom of movement." Their freedom of movement allowed them more room to dance up closely to men and change the thoughts on women. (Makela)

During the 1920’s many changes were happening with women's lives. With the end of the suffrage, movement women were finally gaining more opportunities in politics and in the workforce. However, majority of the country still held the belief that a women’s role was to stay home and take care of their children. From their occupation to the way they dressed women were forced to a strict lifestyle. Not only were they pressured to stay home but pressured to dress. The Flappers movement changed the traditional belief people held on women, women were breaking barriers by dressing and acting against the norms. Flappers were known for not acting “ladylike”, meaning they would act against the expected behavior. Women were dancing, smoking and drinking, women were taking risks and finally making choices for themselves. Flappers strived to be treated equally as men and would dress how they please, going against the social construct. Women took this movement to show society that they are more than just a housewife. Through the flapper's movement, women were slowly gaining more independence and freedom in society. The Flapper movement pushed for women’s movement and has inspired several

The style and cut of women's clothing during the 1920's changed drastically. Waistlines dropped dramatically while hemlines rose scandalously. Turned-down hose were no longer black, but beige. Rouged knees, bobbed hair, and figureless figures characterized the "radical flappers". These women violated many of the rules dictating appropriate clothing and behavior for women. The

A flapper’s daily routine is going to a jazz club or a burlesque and even speakeasies. In society flappers were being looked upon as defying their gender roles which were traditional, commitment to being religious, and commitment to hard work and also modesty. Flappers thought that they were making a difference because they were called “New Women”.

During the Roaring Twenties, women gained more rights, and this allowed them to roam out of society’s standard of a woman. This was a time where “women bobbed their hair, ventured out to speakeasies and dared to shorten their hemlines” (Jamie). These types of women were known as flappers. A studies professor, Rosanna Hertz, said that flappers were rebels, and fashion played an extensive role in allowing them to express their freedom. Women were supposed to wear clothes that covered their legs, “even [if] flapper dresses were knee-length, it was still enough to raise eyebrows” (Jamie). A New York designer named Regina Kobler was a woman of this time period who designed these new styles of clothing. Her work is showcased “in the small show at

The flapper’s lifestyle of partying and living in hollow extravagance stood in stark contrast to pre-World War I culture, and soldiers returning home from war found themselves without a role in the new society. In Ernest

“The flapper is growing stronger than ever ; she gets wilder all the time ...She is continuously seeking for something due to increased her store of experience. She still is looking for new conventions to break -for a new thrills, for sensations to add zest to life ,and she is growing more and more terrible”, said renowned author F. Scott Fitzgerald when asked to address the flapper phenomenon (Zeitz).Flappers were the epitome of the the twenties, the pushers against social norms , and the young rambunctious women who changed the meaning of what it was to be a woman. This new breed of women challenged the ideal traditional roles set upon them by previous Victorian generations. In Joshua Zeits “Flapper”, through unconservative appearance

Human sexuality is defined as the capability of individuals to experience their sexuality and be able to express themselves as sexual beings (Hyde & DeLameck, 2006). Our interest in this topic is because with time, there has been a change in rules that control human sexual behaviour. The status quo in our contemporary society is much different as compared to an earlier state of conditions, and the change has, as a result, brought the evolvement in human sexuality. People 's view on virginity has changed greatly with a decrease of importance in regards to its preservation. Sexuality is essential to the economic, cultural, social and political organization of society or country. Our sexuality plays a fundamental role in all our lives regardless of age, sex or race. It forms a basic part of our personality and the decisions we make in what we do. One’s sexuality also consumes much of their time through behaviour or thoughts; at times every aspect of our lives seems to revolve around our sexuality. Studying sexuality is very important since human sexuality majorly contributes to social as well as personal problems. A lingering question concerning this topic is to what extent is virginity determined by the status quo and the rules that control human behaviour?

This has changed significantly since the 19th century. Sex, amongst others, is no longer taboo to women and it has become a much more liberated subject. It is encouraged and accepted in today's society that a woman enjoys sexual pleasures outside the restraints of only pregnancy, even marriage.

Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.

Married Love was an unprecedented book, which inadvertently redefined female sexuality. Often regarded as the precursor of sex-manuals, Married Love launched Stopes’ enormously successful career as a writer. Published in 1918, Married Love reviewed the intertwining relationship of marriage, sex and contraception, which in Stopes’ view were the fundamental components of a fulfilling and rewarding marriage. Like all discourse, Married Love is heavily embedded within a distinct historical and cultural context. Darwinian theory and the development of eugenics had a phenomenal impact on Stopes. Recognising the equal sexual desire of women would make Married Love greatly influential in the shaping of modern perceptions into female sexuality.

Up to that point in the twentieth century, people were living in a prudish, unhealthy culture that twisted our human sexuality into something that was looked down upon, as something to be ashamed of. Repressing one’s sexual desires simply does not work; that’s not how we were built. (Remember that whole made from love, created for love thing?)