Sex Before the Sexual Revolution
Intimate Life in England 1918–1963

Intriguing insight into attitudes toward sexuality in marriage, based on first-hand interviews with a socially diverse range of people.

Simon Szreter (Author), Kate Fisher (Author)

9780521149327, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 14 October 2010

466 pages, 6 b/w illus. 1 table
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.74 kg

'Szreter and Fisher skilfully reconstruct a moral universe of sexual knowledge and quotidian experience in which ideals of naturalness, spontaneity, respect and trust framed the intimate lives of at least two generations of English men and women.' Sally Alexander, History Workshop Journal

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.

1. Introduction
Part I. What was Sex?: 2. The facts of life: learning about sex in childhood and youth
3. Sexual intimacies before marriage
Part II. What was Love?: 4. Romance and love: finding a partner
5. Married love: caring and sharing
Part III. Exploring Sex and Love in Marriage: 6. Birth control, sex and abstinence
7. Bodies
8. Sex, love, duty, pleasure?
9. The morning after
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]