In 1962, 1.2 million American women were on the Pill and in 1965, over 6.5 million. The Pill successfully separated reproduction from sex. Women, in control of contraception, could demand the same sexual freedom men enjoyed. Increasingly, society viewed extramarital sex as a norm-- for personal expression. The Pill became the epitome of sexual freedom.
“A woman on the pill could theoretically have worry-free sex anytime, anyplace. The pill promised to erase fear and anxiety, to make sex simple and contraception discreet”.
-Sam Blum in Redbook (feminist publication) |
"For the very, very first time, women were set free to enjoy sex"
Loretta McLaughlin, Historian |
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The decrease in legal age to recieve contraception contributed to the sexual revolution (Compiled by Goldin and Katz) "When I got to college, suddenly there was the Pill. So my generation went from being raised like our mothers to—suddenly...sleep with anyone you want to, three different guys a night if you want to...we really got screwed up.” -Interview with Beverly (cited in Asbell) |
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"The gradual liberalizing of sexual codes, ethics and standards of proper behavior-- what some have called the 'new morality' or the 'sexual revolution'-- has, to many observers, transformed young people into wholly promiscuous adolescents." -Excerpt from The Sexual Revolution and the Young- Thomas J. Cottle (New York Times; Nov. 26, 1972) |
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Sex and the Single Girl "[marriage] is insurance for the worst years of your life. During your best years you don't need a husband"
- Sex and the Single Girl |
The Pill mentality pioneered changes in media content, representing a shift from traditional morals to open-mindedness. Ambiguous and provocative advertisements were widespread such as the Miss Clairol slogan: ‘Does she or doesn’t she?'. Playboy Magazinethrived in the 1960s indoctrinating both men and women on sexual experimentation. Sex and the Single Girl (1962) became a best seller where Helen Gurley Brown encourages women to postpone marriage and enjoy being single.
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“The big new development is the oral contraceptive pill, widely used and even more widely discussed both at college and at home. A considerate boy asks a girl politely, ‘Are you on pills?’ If not, he takes the precaution himself. Current joke definition of a good sport: A wife who keeps taking the Pills even when her husband is away."
-Time, 1964 |