The Paper Associated with Sex Survey
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 6:40 am
Sexual Behaviours and Gender Equality in the United States
Simone de Beauvoir explored the myth of the eternal feminine in her book The Second Sex published in 1949. The myth of the eternal feminine comes to define women as they are ideally thought of by society and convention rather than as they are. Feminine wiles and the myth that men cannot possibly come to understand women are parts of this myth. However, when a woman is seen to reveal herself to be without mystery it is she who is at fault, not the myth. Much of the feminist movement of the 20th century has worked to shake this myth of the eternal feminine – and has been more successful than we may have thought. Today, though the myth of the eternal feminine remains present in society we have done away with much that is associated with it. Historically speaking however, many of the so-called great strides of the feminists of the 1960s and 1970s were already once achieved in this country. The great strides made in gender equality by the women's movement of the early 20th century make the slow crawling pace of the later women's movement since the post-WWII reactionary period even more evident that we have not come a long way, baby.
The women's movement of the early twentieth century covered much ground in a short amount of time. The changes in women's behavior seems to epitomize of the 1920s era.As demonstrated by an interview with Flapper Jane in a 1925 issue of The New Republic women are “tired of this mysterious-feminine-charm stuffâ€? and began to make changes. An example of the rapid gains made by the early women's movement is the right to vote. Perhaps as a result, more women began to enter the work force and get an education instead of marrying and having children. According to Flapper Jane, many women “prefer to earn their own living and omit the home-and-baby act.â€? At the same time, fashions became more risqué from the staunch and covered fashions of the Victorians with the shift dresses and bobbed hair. Along with these rather obvious changes, sexual behaviour changed as well. An activity called “pettingâ€? entered into popular culture. Flapper Jane and perhaps many young women of her generation “think a bachelor girl can and should do everything a bachelor man does.â€? The flappers of the 1920s often set out to prove this point, and they may have managed it rather well.
The Second World War ushered in a reactionary era and a return to the myth of the eternal feminine and Victorian ideals of womanhood. Although many women entered the workforce during the war years, immediately following they were shoved back into their homes and kitchens. This was partially to provide jobs for the returning men as well as a reaction to women's liberation. Although in the 1920s many young women felt getting a career and an education were important, and marriage and children could wait, young women of the 1950s felt that getting married was more important. The idea that women should be angels in the home once again captured public opinion and Nancy Fleming (Miss America 1961) stated that she felt there were “too many women working in the world� and that “a woman's place is in the home with her husband and children� when asked about the question of women in the workforce in a 1961 beauty pageant. Because birth control was illegal, many young brides became young mothers and stayed at home to care for her children. Public opinion on birth control also changed. Besty Martin McKinney of Ladies Home Journal felt the use of contraceptives by a woman denied, “her own creativity, her own sexual role, her very femininity.� Clearly, having and caring for children had become once again the domain of women.
With the sexual revolution of the 1960s and later women's movements much has changed in our own opinions, as well as our own sexual behaviour. Recently the phenomena of “friends with benefits� has been discussed in our media. This practice is not so uncommon in teenagers and young adults all over the United States. A “friend with benefits� relationship is often a mutual understanding between two people who have sometimes regular sexual relations without attaching the title of “boyfriend� or “girlfriend� to each other or considering themselves in a relationship other than friendship. Also, oral sex has been stated by many sources to be more prevalent among young people than in the past. The interviews conducted with college students show that the majority of them did not feel that oral sex was a form of sexual intercourse, stating that sexual intercourse involved actual penetration. However, many adults felt that oral sex was sexual intercourse stating that the emotional bond it creates is not significantly different. In interviews with many college students as well as young adults, over half the women interviewed used oral contraceptives. Likewise, many men interviewed identified oral contraceptives as their preferred method of birth control. Clearly, these findings indicate a change in sexual attitudes and behaviour over time, but do they really indicate that much of a difference between the sexual behaviour of today and the sexual behaviour of the earlier part of the twentieth century?
We may have not come as long of a way as was once supposed in eradicating the myth of the eternal feminine in the twentieth century but that is not to say the gains made were not important. The era after the Second World War seem to have successfully quenched the flame of the liberated woman and sent her back into her home with her children, only to have those children rekindle it for the coming generations. Today the women's movement lives on making gains in the way of women's healthcare and reproductive health and awareness as well as focusing on workplace equality. Many women today are free to get educations, jobs, and when to have a family thanks to the gains made by the women's movement of the twentieth century.
Okay that was long - and a rough draft, but because some of you took the survey just so you can sort of see a mini and rough version of what is to come out of it. When it's all said and done I'll post the polished version.
Simone de Beauvoir explored the myth of the eternal feminine in her book The Second Sex published in 1949. The myth of the eternal feminine comes to define women as they are ideally thought of by society and convention rather than as they are. Feminine wiles and the myth that men cannot possibly come to understand women are parts of this myth. However, when a woman is seen to reveal herself to be without mystery it is she who is at fault, not the myth. Much of the feminist movement of the 20th century has worked to shake this myth of the eternal feminine – and has been more successful than we may have thought. Today, though the myth of the eternal feminine remains present in society we have done away with much that is associated with it. Historically speaking however, many of the so-called great strides of the feminists of the 1960s and 1970s were already once achieved in this country. The great strides made in gender equality by the women's movement of the early 20th century make the slow crawling pace of the later women's movement since the post-WWII reactionary period even more evident that we have not come a long way, baby.
The women's movement of the early twentieth century covered much ground in a short amount of time. The changes in women's behavior seems to epitomize of the 1920s era.As demonstrated by an interview with Flapper Jane in a 1925 issue of The New Republic women are “tired of this mysterious-feminine-charm stuffâ€? and began to make changes. An example of the rapid gains made by the early women's movement is the right to vote. Perhaps as a result, more women began to enter the work force and get an education instead of marrying and having children. According to Flapper Jane, many women “prefer to earn their own living and omit the home-and-baby act.â€? At the same time, fashions became more risqué from the staunch and covered fashions of the Victorians with the shift dresses and bobbed hair. Along with these rather obvious changes, sexual behaviour changed as well. An activity called “pettingâ€? entered into popular culture. Flapper Jane and perhaps many young women of her generation “think a bachelor girl can and should do everything a bachelor man does.â€? The flappers of the 1920s often set out to prove this point, and they may have managed it rather well.
The Second World War ushered in a reactionary era and a return to the myth of the eternal feminine and Victorian ideals of womanhood. Although many women entered the workforce during the war years, immediately following they were shoved back into their homes and kitchens. This was partially to provide jobs for the returning men as well as a reaction to women's liberation. Although in the 1920s many young women felt getting a career and an education were important, and marriage and children could wait, young women of the 1950s felt that getting married was more important. The idea that women should be angels in the home once again captured public opinion and Nancy Fleming (Miss America 1961) stated that she felt there were “too many women working in the world� and that “a woman's place is in the home with her husband and children� when asked about the question of women in the workforce in a 1961 beauty pageant. Because birth control was illegal, many young brides became young mothers and stayed at home to care for her children. Public opinion on birth control also changed. Besty Martin McKinney of Ladies Home Journal felt the use of contraceptives by a woman denied, “her own creativity, her own sexual role, her very femininity.� Clearly, having and caring for children had become once again the domain of women.
With the sexual revolution of the 1960s and later women's movements much has changed in our own opinions, as well as our own sexual behaviour. Recently the phenomena of “friends with benefits� has been discussed in our media. This practice is not so uncommon in teenagers and young adults all over the United States. A “friend with benefits� relationship is often a mutual understanding between two people who have sometimes regular sexual relations without attaching the title of “boyfriend� or “girlfriend� to each other or considering themselves in a relationship other than friendship. Also, oral sex has been stated by many sources to be more prevalent among young people than in the past. The interviews conducted with college students show that the majority of them did not feel that oral sex was a form of sexual intercourse, stating that sexual intercourse involved actual penetration. However, many adults felt that oral sex was sexual intercourse stating that the emotional bond it creates is not significantly different. In interviews with many college students as well as young adults, over half the women interviewed used oral contraceptives. Likewise, many men interviewed identified oral contraceptives as their preferred method of birth control. Clearly, these findings indicate a change in sexual attitudes and behaviour over time, but do they really indicate that much of a difference between the sexual behaviour of today and the sexual behaviour of the earlier part of the twentieth century?
We may have not come as long of a way as was once supposed in eradicating the myth of the eternal feminine in the twentieth century but that is not to say the gains made were not important. The era after the Second World War seem to have successfully quenched the flame of the liberated woman and sent her back into her home with her children, only to have those children rekindle it for the coming generations. Today the women's movement lives on making gains in the way of women's healthcare and reproductive health and awareness as well as focusing on workplace equality. Many women today are free to get educations, jobs, and when to have a family thanks to the gains made by the women's movement of the twentieth century.
Okay that was long - and a rough draft, but because some of you took the survey just so you can sort of see a mini and rough version of what is to come out of it. When it's all said and done I'll post the polished version.