The sexual revolution , also known as the sexual liberation , was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the developed Western world from the late s to the early s. Several other periods in Western culture have been called the "first sexual revolution", to which the s revolution would be the second or later.
The term "sexual revolution" itself has been used since at least the late s. The term appeared as early as ; the book Is Sex Necessary? When speaking of the sexual revolution, historians [ 7 ] make a distinction between the first and the second sexual revolution. In the first sexual revolution — , Victorian morality lost its universal appeal. However, it did not lead to the rise of a "permissive society".
Exemplary for this period is the rise and differentiation in forms of regulating sexuality. Classics professor Kyle Harper uses the phrase "first sexual revolution" to refer to the displacement of the norms of sexuality in Ancient Rome with those of Christianity as it was adopted throughout the Roman Empire. Romans accepted and legalized prostitution, bisexuality , and pederasty.
Male promiscuity was considered normal and healthy as long as masculinity was maintained, associated with being the penetrating partner. In contrast, female chastity was required for respectable women, to ensure the integrity of family bloodlines. These attitudes were replaced by Christian prohibitions on homosexual acts and any sex outside marriage, including with slaves and prostitutes. History professor Faramerz Dabhoiwala cites the Age of Enlightenment —approximately the 18th century—as a major period of transition in the United Kingdom.
Sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church undermined the credibility of religious authorities, and the rise of urban police forces helped distinguish crime from sin. Overall, toleration increased for heterosexual sex outside marriage, including prostitution, mistresses, and pre-marital sex. Though these acts were still condemned by many as libertine , infidelity became more often a civil matter than a criminal offense receiving capital punishment.
