Sexuality in Adulthood

Coinciding with the sexual revolution was the women's movement, which urged women to look beyond the bounds of motherhood and housewifery to discover their untapped potential. This potential was to be sought in the classroom, boardroom, courtroom, and the bedroom.

What the women's movement added to the sexual revolution was the concept of women being equal partners in the bedroom. Women no longer had to wait for a man to initiate sex and it was important that the experience be filled with as much pleasure for her as it was for him.

It is interesting to note that the concept of women enjoying sex and the importance of a woman experiencing orgasm is not a phenomenon of either the sexual revolution or the women's movement. In the 1600s it was believed, throughout much of Western Europe, that in order for a woman to become pregnant she must experience orgasm. Just as a man ejaculates sperm it was believed that a woman only releases her "seed" when she experiences an orgasm (Szuchman and Muscarella 2000). Therefore, it was imperative that a man did all that he could to ensure that this happened.

As medical knowledge advanced this concept was disproved. Foreplay and a woman experiencing orgasm were no longer an integral function of reproduction and therefore not deemed necessary. Sexual intercourse once again became primarily a venue for procreation (Szuchman and Muscarella 2000).

Three hundred years later women were demanding, not asking, that sex and pleasure no longer be mutually exclusive or a male prerogative. Sexual intercourse was not to be considered a wife's duty. Women could be the initiator, instructor, and full participant.

This change created further possibilities for sexual activity outside of marriage. For many it was no longer a necessity for a woman to be a virgin when she married. In the past those that "lost" their virginity prior to marriage were considered abnormal, whereas today maintaining one's virginity until marriage may be looked at as aberrant (Scanzoni 2000). Of course these trends are often mediated by an individual's moral, religious, cultural, and ethnic/racial affiliation. This is especially significant as many women delay marriage to build a career. Many women and men may be more reluctant to wait to engage in sexual intercourse until they marry.

In addition to delaying marriage, women are also delaying childbirth. The advent of the pill made it more possible for women and men to engage in sexual intercourse without the fear of pregnancy.