| The Sexual Revolution and Teen Dating Trends | |
The consensus of the mass media seems to be that, with apparent decreasing
sexual activity, a new teenage conservatism is emerging. Sophisticated academic
studies are substantiating these assumptions. But, is the sexual revolution
really over? Are teens returning to conservative sexual values? Are we
witnessing the end of sexual liberalism and a new trend toward virginity before
marriage?
Barbara Risman, North Carolina State University, and Pepper Schwartz, University
of Washington, reexamine assumptions as well as data reflecting the alleged end
of the sexual revolution among teenagers in the article "After the Sexual
Revolution: Gender Politics in Teen Dating" in Contexts, the newest journal of
the American Sociological Association.
Studies show that a smaller proportion of youth between the ages of 15 and 17
are sexually active. Between 1991 and 1997, teenagers reporting having sexual
intercourse dropped 5.7 percent, and the teen pregnancy rate was down 14
percent. Risman and Schwartz found that, while the data show declining sexual
activity, claims of a sexual conservatism among teens is somewhat exaggerated if
not misinterpreted. Several rigorous studies indicate that the number of high
school boys--but not girls--under 18 who remained virgins dramatically
increased. Sexual activity of white and Hispanic females has remained generally
stable while black females reduced their rates of sexual activity more sharply,
moving toward levels comparable to that of white and Hispanic girls. The authors
speculate that cultural norms for females have dramatically changed, giving them
greater influence or control within a relationship.
Risman and Schwartz believe that there is no counterrevolution, but instead the
sexual revolution was such a success that it has revised the framework of how
American society thinks about sex. It redefined sexual activity as a right of
individuals and not merely as a means for reproduction or even marital intimacy.
Teenagers living in this culture are struggling to create new norms that work
for them in the 21st century.
---American Sociological Association
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