In My Opinion: The Sexual Revolution in Perspective

Abstract

The critical battles of the sexual revolution appear to be won. is out of the closet, as they say, the sexuality of women is acknowledged, and sexual functioning is viewed as a health entity having positive value from infancy well into old age. I applaud the open honesty with which we can now express our sexual needs and the recognition that the sexual part of the self is as important as the emotional, the intellectual and the physical. Indeed, we now understand that all these elements interact in the determination of life's health and happiness. But something seems wrong. The Joy of Sex is accompanied by the tragedy of a million teenage unwed pregnancies. The beauty of a loving sexual embrace is made ugly by its loveless and degrading exhibition in films and television. Where sex is ennobled in its mutual sharing between caring partners, Madison Avenue treats it as an impersonal commodity whose purpose is to entice attention to a product.