The Theory Of Sexual Liberation - 1644 Words

Contemporary British society claims to be sexually liberated, in that there is more open attitudes to diverse sexualities and certain sexual acts are no longer seen as taboo/perverse. It is seen that we are now free to choose and explore these sexualities. However monogamous heterosexual relationships are still seen as what is â€Å"normal† in society therefore if British society claims to be sexually liberated why is what is seen as traditional still the most common type of relationship? This theory of sexual liberation is favoured by Giddens (1992) who sees that in sexually liberated Britain relationships now exist solely on whatever rewards that said relationship has to offer. Commitment in these relationships is negotiated which has†¦show more content†¦Hence Giddens (1992) sees this process of sexual liberation as a move from sexual perversion to sexual pluralism. This has resulted in â€Å"plastic sexuality†. (p2) Consequently Giddens perceives a move from the romantic love of the 19th-20th century to â€Å"Confluent love† (p2) which is active and presumes equality. This is reflected in statistics as in 2012 it is estimated that 42% of marriages ended in divorce. (ONS 2013) This suggests a move to a more liberated society as divorce previously had stigma attached to it whereas now it is seen as a common practice. Similarly Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (1995) comprehend that this sexual liberation has brought an emergence of young people seekin g relationships based on emotional commitment rather than traditional relationships based on aspects such as practicality. Therefore it can be seen that sexual behaviour in British society is now based on personal choice rather than being socially prescribed. (Weeks 1995) This liberation can be seen in college students and the trend of constructing collegiate sexuality which is exempt from the rules of adult sexual behaviour. Wilkins and Dalessandro (2013) examined this trend of â€Å"monogamy lite.† Though it was seen that after graduating students were expected to fall into monogamous heterosexual relationships. As a result it can be argued that this sexual liberation is only available for certain periods of the life course and perhaps only for those