Sexual revolution

The sexual revolution was a substantial change in sexual morality and sexual behavior throughout the West in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The trigger for the revolution was the development of the birth control pill in 1960, which gave women access to easy and reliable contraception.

Medicine and sex

The development of antibiotics in the 1940s made most of the severe venereal diseases of the time curable, removing the threat of sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis.

Related Topics:
Antibiotic - 1940s - Venereal disease - Syphilis

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In the early 1960s, The Pill became available; at first for married women only, but demand and changes in attitudes later lead to it becoming available to unmarried women as well.

Related Topics:
1960s - The Pill

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With the twin threats of disease and pregnancy removed, many of the traditional constraints on sexual behavior seemed unjustified.

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With the notion that sexually-transmitted diseases were easily treatable, much of the maturing post-WW2 baby boom generation experimented with sex outside the boundaries of marriage.

Related Topics:
Post-WW2 baby boom - Marriage

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The advent of genital herpes and AIDS has started the pendulum swinging in the reverse direction, but modern trends are towards harm reduction through education and safer sex rather than a return to sexual puritanism.

Related Topics:
Genital herpes - AIDS - Harm reduction - Safer sex

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