Women,Gender,Sexuality Studies 295S - S-Sex & Liberation: The 1970s

As a result of changing understandings of and attitudes towards women?s sexuality, homosexuality, and premarital sexuality, as well as the rise of new social movements such as the women?s and gay liberation movement, new technologies such as the birth control pill, and legal triumphs like Roe v. Wade, the 1960s and 1970s witnessed a "sexual revolution" in the United States and indeed in much of the world. Among other things, the sexual revolution was marked by new forms of sexual expression and practices and new visions for sexual relations, ethics, and sexual-social organization. Central to the sexual revolution was the concept of sexual liberation, the idea that repressed sexual subjects, desires, and practices were now freed of their previous constraints. This claim was seen as particularly true for women and for gay men and lesbians. But what did sexual liberation really mean for these actors? Did it mean the same thing to all? How did women differ in their understanding and experience of sexual liberation? Was liberation synonymous with pleasure? With emotional fulfillment? With independence? Was sexual liberation even financially tenable for women? And what did a politics of sexual liberation look like for different actors? This course will explore the complexity of sexual liberation by examining the history of the sexual revolution in the US from the 1960s and the 1980s, focusing on feminist and gay liberation thought and cultural products from the period. Moreover, we will consider the legacy of diverse visions and experiences of "sexual liberation" between 1960-1980 for the present day.