Sex Before the Sexual Revolution

Intimate Life in England 1918-1963

By Simon Szreter

2010

First Published

3.81

Average Rating

466

Number of Pages

14H13M

Audio Length

Part of Series

Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories

Series · 18 books

By Margot C. Finn, Joseph Clarke, Susan K. Morrissey, and more

What did sex mean for ordinary people before the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, who were often pitied by later generations as repressed, unfulfilled and full of moral anxiety? This book provides the first rounded, first-hand account of sexuality in marriage in the early and mid-twentieth century. These award-winning authors look beyond conventions of silence among the respectable majority to challenge stereotypes of ignorance and inhibition. Based on vivid, compelling and frank testimonies from a socially and geographically diverse range of individuals, the book explores a spectrum of sexual experiences, from learning about sex and sexual practices in courtship, to attitudes to the body, marital ideals and birth control. It demonstrates that while the era’s emphasis on silence and strict moral codes could for some be a source of inhibition and dissatisfaction, for many the culture of privacy and innocence was central to fulfilling and pleasurable intimate lives.

Avg Rating

3.81

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

23%

4 STARS

42%

3 STARS

30%

2 STARS

1 STARS

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Author

Simon Szreter

Author · 2 books

Simon Szreter is Professor of History and Public Policy at St John's College, Cambridge, England. Research Interests History and Public Policy, especially in relation to comparative demographic, social and economic change. Current research includes the study of qualitative and quantitative sources on the history of fertility decline in Britain, including a new project on the venereal diseases and fertility decline; the history of mortality public health and politics; and the comparative history of identity registration systems in world history. I am a long-term honorary research associate of the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure; and currently with several colleagues in the Dept of History and Philosophy of Science, Classics and Physiology, I am an award-holder of the 5-year Wellcome Strategic Award, 2009-14, to the University of Cambridge on the Theme of 'Generation to Reproduction', which has a number of funded doctoral scholarships attached to it.