The Sexual Revolution: A Social Movement

Today, the availability of birth control is taken for granted. There was a time, not long passed, during which the subject was illegal (“Margaret Sanger,” 2013, p.1). That did not stop the resilient leader of the birth control movement. Margaret Sanger was a nurse and women’s activist. While working as a nurse, Sanger treated many women who had suffered from unsafe abortions or tried to self-induce abortion (p.1). Seeing this devastation and noting that it was mainly low income women suffering from these problems, she was inspired to dedicate her life to educating women on family planning—even though the discussion of which was highly illegal at the time (p.1). She was often in trouble with

Another huge social and cultural change during this time was the gay liberation movement. During the 1960’s, many groups decided to fight for their rights and equality. One of these groups was the gay and lesbian members of society. Many of these individuals were discriminated against and had no rights, but they decided enough was enough. In the 1960’s, gays decided to begin the fight for their own rights. One example of this was made after New York officers decided to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York’s very own Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969. This type of raid was not unusual, being that many police officers made it a habit of raiding gay and lesbian bars. This became known as the “Stonewall Riot”, which many view as the starting point of the gay liberation movement. The gay liberation movement was the fight by gays and lesbians for equal rights, one of these rights being the right to not be discriminated against, and most importantly, to be able to openly “come out” to their family and friends. The gay liberation movement helped to impact our current times greatly. Today, a gay person has rights just like anyone else. A gay

So what started this trend of the search for independence? The Search for Independence was a very big “movement” that basically was going on in the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s. The change of music during that decade also had an effect on the actions of teenagers during the sexual revolution. Joyce Carol Oates threw in artist like Bob Dylan, as mentioned in the story, because he was a major influence on the rapid change in attitudes of teenagers in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. His songs were risqué for the decade; they talked about things such as drugs, alcohol, and sex. The songs encouraged the behaviors of the teenagers.

In the mid-1800s American women united to participate in social reforms movements more than ever before. This movement’s involved: struggle to abolish slavery, outlaw alcohol, and ban child labor among others (Rupp, 1987). Despite the failure of the women's movement to attain one among its primary goals, the passage of the ERA , the movement overall accomplished an excellent deal. For several women activists, management over their bodies was a central issue in the campaign. Women needed to be liberated to explore and control their gender, while not being judged by society. An oversized a part of management during this arena concerned having access to birth control, or contraception ways (Fishman, 1998). The contraception pill, associate inoculant,

We are accustomed to referring to a "sexual revolution" in the 1960s, but the actual consequences of that social shift were necessarily reflected in the law. To a

To the question “Why the Woman Rebel?” Sanger wrote “Because I believe that deep down in woman’s nature lies slumbering the spirit of revolt” and “Because I believe that through the efforts of individual revolution will woman’s freedom emerge”. Both highlight how birth control was not a mere technique to personal freedom, but an avenue to power. These quotes emphasize Sanger’s belief that the birth control pill would unleash the spirit of freedom amongst women. She did not argue for the open distribution of contraceptive to promote personal freedom. However, she believed that limitation on family size would free women from the dangers of childbearing and give them the opportunity to become active outside the home. In addition, Document 1 acknowledges birth control’s ability to bring about radical social class change. Sanger includes her belief that women are “enslaved by the world machine…middle-class morality”. Her idea of social change not only involved embracing the liberation of woman, but also the working class. It is believed that the birth control campaign succeeded as it became “a movement by and for the middle class”. Birth control provided middle-class women the opportunity to plan families without the stress of balancing growing expenses for a child that was not planned for. In The Woman Rebel Sanger introduces birth control’s larger mission of power and opportunity for women while incorporating the basis of social class.

The Birth Control Movement of 1912 in the United States had a significant impact on Women’s Reproductive Rights. Women in the 1800s would frequently die or have complications during or after childbirth. Even if the woman would have died, they would still have a great amount of children. As the years progressed into the 1900s, the amount of children being born dropped. Because of this, birth control supplements were banned, forcing women to have a child that she was not prepared for or did not want to have in the first place.

Following the release of The Woman Rebel, Anthony Comstock spearheaded an anti-birth control campaign with the aid of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, “vice” as Comstock described it “intemperance, gambling, and evil reading”(6,1,122). Document 2 is an interview with Comstock by Mary Alden Hopkins of Harper’s Weekly on the issue of birth control and the laws against its distribution and publication. Comstock approaches the birth control issue as a religious zealot, arguing that it is the moral and spiritual obligation of the people to stray from “vice” and practice abstinence as the only means of family planning. Comstock’s conservative rhetoric appealed to the “Victorian” era principles of “self-control” and moral fortitude. Moreover, Comstock employs the ideology of “rule by fear,” by

The early twentieth century was a turning point in American history-especially in regards to the acquisition of women's rights. While the era was considered to be prosperous and later thought to be a happy-go-lucky time, in actuality, it was a time of grave social conflict and human suffering (Parish, 110). Among those who endured much suffering were women. As Margaret Sanger found out, women, especially those who were poor, had no choice regarding pregnancy. The only way not to get pregnant was by not having sex- a choice that was almost always the husband's. This was even more true in the case of lower-class men for whom, 'sex was the poor man's only luxury' (Douglas, 31). As a nurse who assisted in delivering

The authors state that “In the face of poverty, however, pregnancy became not simply a duty or a blessing, but also a curse leading some women to rebel” (199). This led to a heightened discussion on reproduction morality all across the country. As a result of this huge debate, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the establishment of the birth control pill. Because of the pill, a famous Warren court case known as Griswold v. Connecticut ruled in favor of Griswold permitting married couples the right to use birth control. Today, there are still remaining challenges concerning female sexuality.

b. Transnational trafficking of W – transportation of W from one country to another, usually for the purposes of prostitution

Starting in November of 1912, “What Every Girl Should Know” by Sanger was being published every Sunday in The Call, a commonly read socialist newspaper. Within her articles, Sanger covered puberty and the changes that occurred as a result, the functions of the reproductive system, and the causes and ways to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. At the time, the Comstock laws were in place which defined contraceptives obscene and made it illegal for information regarding contraceptives to be sent through the U.S Postal Service. For this reason, “What Every Girl Should Know” was no longer allowed to be published, the last article published was blank except for the words “What Every Girl Should Know. NOTHING! By order of the Post Office Department” (qtd. in Lader 37). Refusing to give up, Sanger prepared herself to fight the Comstock Laws and provide the women and girls of New York with information about contraceptives and their bodies. From 1913 to 1914, Sanger travelled to Paris. At this time in Europe, contraceptives were much more accepted and information was plentiful. Sanger spent her days researching and gathered a collection of information on the best and latest douches, sponges, suppositories, and pessaries. She also bought some of the devices to bring back with her to the United States. Having gathered enough research, Sanger headed back to the United States. In

Growing up as a young woman today in a world where sex sells, would be unimaginable without the creation and use of birth control. Birth control not only gives women rights as to whether or not they want to bear children but it also helps women with menstrual cycles. Women at one point had no contraception or information on birth control. Imagine the world today without knowledge on contraception. Imagine how middle to lower class citizens would survive. Most of the children would be lucky to be fed yet alone college educated. This is all because one woman, Margaret Sanger, devoted her life to this cause. This research paper will address who Margaret Sanger was, why birth control meant so much to her and how she devoted her life to its cause and creation.

(D'Emilio/Friedman, 1) This time period also brought about "petting parties" which allowed the young women to experiment sexually without fully engaging in sex. This however, did not stop a sharp increase in women who began having sex outside of marrige during this era. Women then began to change their apprances and social behaviors. They began cutting their hair short, wearing short skirts showing alot of skin, drinking and dancing in public as well as smoking. All of these changes, considered to be highly taboo at the time, might lead one to believe that the young women were rebelling to further their equallity with men in terms sexual freedoms.

The climate of the 1960s was turbulent. This decade was marked by many political movements, which reflected support for non-establishment themes. During this time the “sexual liberation movement” became a popular cause. This intensified social and political interest helped many disadvantaged groups to receive support and attention that previously had never been received. As part of the nation’s desire for sexual political liberation, gay liberation became visible.