THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION BRIEFLY CONSIDERED
Briefly considered, the sexual revolution may be regarded as a point in time when sex once again was reestablished as a vital human function. Comfort (1972) defines this changing status of sex as one in which we have moved from reproductive sex (sex as parenthood) through relational sex (intimacy between two people) to recreational sex (sex as physical play). Thus, more sexual options are available to each of us. It is now clearly the case that the traditional religious, legal, and social constraints that once determined our sexual decisions have been gradually eroded. Conversely, most of us are now in a much stronger position to exercise our own individual initiatives in determining which sexual options we will select. The question of whether this new-found freedom has enabled individuals to make their sexual decisions on the basis of knowledge, mature judgment, and a concern for the welfare of others — objectives most people would consider of merit — is a matter of some debate. If the importance of the sexual revolution is measured in terms of an emergence of a scientific perspective, then, clearly, considerable progress has been realized. The results of using these same scientific resources to gauge the broader impact of the sexual revolution have not, however, established whether the above objectives have been accomplished.
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