# Who Won the Sexual Revolution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593 "2011-11-02T04:58:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/81 "2011-11-04T23:35:47Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Fornication just means sex outside of marriage. It’s also pretty much an archaic term. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/82 "2011-11-04T23:48:13Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Netherlands may lack censorship on sex but considering the extremely high rates of teenage sex in this country its hard to imagine it being anymore higher. Cite for “extremely high rates of teenage sex in this country”? Also, you might want to look at [this.](http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/09/06/the-land-of-opportunity-for-sexually-transmitted-infections/) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/83 "2011-11-05T00:04:20Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Fornication just means sex outside of marriage. 😕 No, it means burying somebody alive in an anthill . . . or is that formication? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/84 "2011-11-05T00:09:47Z")
> [@kenetic](#): > > Cite for “extremely high rates of teenage sex in this country”? My friend, this is one of those points on which one should not ask for a cite. Let us simply prefer to believe it is so. Vividly. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/85 "2011-11-05T00:10:25Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Fornication just means sex outside of marriage. So teen abortion and STDs would be ok if they were married? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/86 "2011-11-05T00:28:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 No, it means burying somebody alive in an anthill . . . or is that formication? It could be both for certain weird people - and no, I am not Googling it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/87 "2011-11-05T00:29:58Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > My friend, this is one of those points on which one should not ask for a cite. Let us simply prefer to believe it is so. Vividly. 🆒 It’s wishful thinking. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/88 "2011-11-05T00:36:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 No, it means burying somebody alive in an anthill . . . or is that formication? Formication might also mean being turned into an ant. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/89 "2011-11-05T01:37:07Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Latex condoms have been around far longer than the pill (the 1920’s vs. the 1960’s). People switching from condoms to the pill would cause the STD rate to go up, for obvious reasons. Of course, since I will instantly have 100+ posters quote me and call me an idiot as soon as I press “Submit reply”, I suppose I’d best add in some kind cites rather than just rely on common sense. For example, if we were to look at gonorrhea: > > [Link](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/national/09disease.html) > > ([Here’s a graph of gonorrhea rates from 1941 - 2007.](http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats07/trends.pdf)) > > And this is without getting into stuff like decreased use of contraceptives, period, due to legalized abortion. Well, that was the kind of cite I was looking for, obviously, not just some, “well, here’s a wiki link about teen pregnancy.” Thank you. I was merely asking for him to provide a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/90 "2011-11-05T01:43:12Z")
Oh and **Qin** , the word “fornication” has a negative connotation to it, implying that it’s somehow dirty, or sinful. ---
**Author:** ![Naxos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@Naxos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naxos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/91 "2011-11-05T02:01:42Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > This question is actually inspired in part by Bill Maher. On his show recently, he said with talk of gay marriage and the like, clearly the Liberals won the so-called Sexual Revolution of the 60s and 70s. If you put this in a context of conservatives vs liberals, even though it’s a simplistic and meaningless context, then yes, liberals won that one. Gay marriage has nothing to do with it. If you just consider the droves of self proclaimed conservative women who now behave in ways that their mother would have strangled them and buried them in a deep grave in a forest just to avoid the social stigma to their family, then yes, the liberals won that one. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/92 "2011-11-05T03:06:18Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh and **Qin** , the word “fornication” has a negative connotation to it, implying that it’s somehow dirty, or sinful. Only if done right. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/93 "2011-11-05T12:03:17Z")
With the sexual revolution, suddenly people could talk about things, own up to things, like STD’s, teen pregnancy, etc, that were previously kept hidden out of shame. That the weak minded insist on there being a huge increase in such things, at the time, doesn’t make it anything other than the obvious opening up about what was once to never be spoken of. Those who refuse to see the obvious, reveal themselves as the very reason for the change, in the first place, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/94 "2011-11-05T12:42:44Z")
> [@Naxos](#): > > If you put this in a context of conservatives vs liberals, even though it’s a simplistic and meaningless context, then yes, liberals won that one. > > Gay marriage has nothing to do with it. > > If you just consider the droves of self proclaimed conservative women who now behave in ways that their mother would have strangled them and buried them in a deep grave in a forest just to avoid the social stigma to their family, then yes, the liberals won that one. Part of the point here is thatoyher actually did all that stuff in her own youth but successfully kept it quiet. Her strictness with daughter was purely hypocritical. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/95 "2011-11-05T22:39:11Z")
The winners have been men and women who enjoy sexual variety. The losers have been women who do not, and men who want to marry virgins. Children have lost. Children who are raised by both biological parents living together in matrimony tend to have fewer problems in life than those who are raised in alternatives to that situation. The sexual revolution has made marriage fragile, and increased the number of divorces and illegitimate children. Christian conservatives have lost. Those whose conservatism consists primarily of hatred for taxes and gun control laws seem to be attracted to pornographic internet forums, so those kind of conservatives seem to have won. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/96 "2011-11-05T22:44:46Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > Children have lost. Only if you think being raised in a home where the parents hate each other is good for children. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/97 "2011-11-05T22:48:48Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > With the sexual revolution, suddenly people could talk about things, own up to things, like STD’s, teen pregnancy, etc, that were previously kept hidden out of shame. > > That the weak minded insist on there being a huge increase in such things, at the time, doesn’t make it anything other than the obvious opening up about what was once to never be spoken of. > > Those who refuse to see the obvious, reveal themselves as the very reason for the change, in the first place, in my opinion. When Alfred Kinsey published Sexual Behavior in the Human Female in 1953, many Americans were shocked to learn that only fifty percent of American brides were virgins. Now that percentage seems unbelievably high. Nevertheless, Kinsey seems to have overestimated the percentage of homosexuals at ten percent. Later estimates put that at about three to four percent. Consequently, it seems likely that he underestimated the percentage of American women who were virgins on their wedding nights. I think sexual behavior has change significantly since the 1950s. The benefit of that is that the birth rate has declined. An emphasis on pre marital virginity seems to increase the birth rate. The disadvantage in an increase in non marital sex can be seen in the growing percentage of children who will never know the security of growing up in a secure nuclear family. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/98 "2011-11-05T23:26:46Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > An emphasis on pre marital virginity seems to increase the birth rate. That’s an absolutely bizarre conjecture. Birth rates decline as people begin living in cities and infectious disease goes down, making it more worthwhile to invest heavily in a few kids rather than having a lot of kids and seeing who manages to live. Pre-martial virginity is related to inheritance patterns, a woman’s ability to control resources, and a woman’s need to maintain scarcity value on her sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/99 "2011-11-06T00:24:36Z")
Yeah, it’s not the birth rate, it’s the unplanned pregnancy rate. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593/100 "2011-11-06T01:50:22Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > Children have lost. Children who are raised by both biological parents living together in matrimony tend to have fewer problems in life than those who are raised in alternatives to that situation. The sexual revolution has made marriage fragile, and increased the number of divorces and illegitimate children. Utter nonsense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-won-the-sexual-revolution/601593.md?page=6)