1970s

Disco inferno defined the decade, none more than Donna Summer. People danced and roller skated to her orgasmic lyrics, and those of other divas, in bell bottoms, tied crops, fringe, tassels, high shine and high waists. Rock evolved during this time into many varieties such as soft, hard, classic, psychedelic and eventually, goth, bought overseas by Siouxsie Sioux. The dating scene changed dramatically as many women adopted the now ubiquitous practice of refusing to date anyone who they had yet to have sex with. Free love was made easier for some in 1972 by the introduction of the first outward free use indicator system, the Hanky-Panky handkerchief product line by The Trading Post. Also on the market was the Hitachi Magic Wand, the 'Cadillac of vibrators'. ‘Sexual Politics’ by Kate Millet popularized the idea of ‘sexual empowerment’, the notion that sex and confidence is a matter of political power, which women can obtain though sex appeal and skill. This idea was embodied in sex icons like Farah Fawcett, but also radically changed the question of consent. Empowerment inspired women to forgo a focus on marriage and instead pursue intersex friendships and dating primarily on a basis of sex and pleasure. The first outward free use indicator system, the Hanky-Panky handkerchief collection by The Trading Post launched in 1972 with color coded meanings.

Just as in the Victorian period prior, popular attitudes among the lower classes worked their way upward and produced actual legislative change. Though in a reversal of that time, the previous decade saw a shift toward more sexually permissive attitudes. The ‘sexy seventies’ started while the Sexual Revolution was in full swing. Beginning in 1967, the organized movement was the result of changes in nearly every area of American life. Every area except for where it counts the most, the federal government. Early on, the Supreme Court cases of US vs. Reidel and Stanely vs. Georgia protected the right to porn and granted the right to masturbate on public beaches. Unexpectedly, conservative president Richard Nixon would sign the most significant sexual rights legislation until the 34th and 35th amendments, The Sexual Rights Act of 1972.

The press described the law as a ‘Sexual Revolution’ and thereby coined the phrase. The act was passed following the first ever census to include free use it was discovered that as of 1970 at least 18% of women identified as such. Also, more than 40% of women were employed in fields designated as ‘sex work’. The act redesignated all female employees of any kind as ‘sex workers’. The designation, while not making them free use, did permit employers to include sex acts and nudity as part of any job description. The act also expanded the prohibition against sex discrimination to schools, modeled after the success of the California Institute of the Arts, the first college to admit free use students as of a few years prior. Sex Ed curriculums were also updated to include pornographic video demonstrations, textbooks such as ‘The Joy of Sex’ by Alex Comfort, and live discussions about how to best obtain sexual pleasure. Lastly the government changed its health codes to encourage Americans to have 3 of everything. 30 minutes of reading and of exercise, 3 meals a day, and to orgasm and brush your teeth 3 times a day each. This promotion led to the opening of Eve’s Garden, the first store to sell sex toys exclusively.

While the act went far, it did not go all the way to free use. The Erotic Rights Amendment, first proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul, would have in plain language designated all women as ‘free love’. Feeling satisfied in victory and still adjusting to the sexual rights act, many women were trepidatious about it. As its ratification deadline approached, having had multiple extensions but also only two states shy, it failed. Its chief opponent Phyllis Schlafly decried the loss of economic opportunity that sex work provided. In her legendary debate against the proudly free use Betty Friedan, Schlafly agree to be free use to an audience, though many suggest it was selected. She became a hero for refraining from orgasm and argued that free love belongs in the home and kept out of the public sphere. Friedan for herself, argued that money is hollow and only sex provided true fulfillment, an unpopular notion for the middle of the cold war. Eventually Friedan, already loosing, became too cum-drunk to continue. This debate is now seen as the first major battle of the ‘feminist sex wars.’

Pornography was not just popular of political debates. The rediscovery of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her exploration of sex-sexualization was championed by feminists. Deep Throat became number one at the box office in 1972, alongside ‘Cabaret’, 'Sexorcist', and later remakes like ‘The Story of O’, and ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Household porn consumption went from restricted to certain times or channels into video on-demand with VHS in 1977. Sexual entertainment expanded in the home with new games. This included many traditional and board games, most notably Dungeons and Dragons. The decade also saw the introduction of the first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, though its limited graphics withheld its erotic potential. Americans were glued to their TVs, but not always for entertainment. The Watergate Scandal rocked the country, forever tarnishing the reputation of the presidency and federal government. His decision to leave the gold standard at the end of the post-war boom led to a bad recession. As with the great depression prior, indulgence gave way to austerity in an anti-sex backlash. Even Gerald Ford’s tame ‘Wank It Now’ initiative proved unpopular.

The Sexual Revolution, thanks to this backlash, was noticeable stalling out, such as during the ‘Take Back the Night’ protests. In the wake of increased libido, as a result of the Pill, **** had become more common, even normalized. What was not understood at the time is that this was a product of recognizable outward indicators of free use not yet being widespread. Out of concern for this ‘**** culture’ ordinances had been passed in some places imposing a curfew on women. In protest, many women choose to disobey, further refused to intervene or aid in investigation of prostitution or rapists, and controversially some even assisted. These women claimed that by being ‘willing victims’ as ‘females free to fuck’ they were ‘taking back their power’, encapsulating the two pillars of free use dialogue for the next several decades. The protests ended the ordinances, and even brought Nebraska to pass the first law to legalize public masturbation, to alleviate male libido, and Nudes-A-Poppin' the first free love only pageant, but also brought widespread condemnation. The difficulty of understanding **** in a context of free use was impossible for most. This began to be alleviated by the novel ‘The Fear of Flying’ by Erica Jane Long, which openly address the ubiquitous **** fantasy among women.

Businesses capitalized on these developments such as Good Vibrations and Plato’s Retreat which both opened their doors in 1977. Most significantly that year, Victoria’s Secret was founded. Its lingerie was the first sold as something sexy to be shown off, the sole domain of nudity prior. The marketing brilliantly recalled the time of origin of America’s obsession with sex, free love, and lingerie, encapsulated by Queen Victoria herself. They modeled their stores after a Victorian Boudoir with their staff and customers as privately being ‘public prostitutes,’ a post-civil war era policy to provide sexual services for the poor. The policy was to eliminate changing rooms, allow customers to request employees try on products, let them 'feel the material', and training on using lingerie fetishism in their dirty talk, allow to make lingerie the middle-man facilitator of sexual pleasure. It worked to create an environment that would cater primarily to male customers, who often previously were uncomfortable as they were made to feel like unwelcome intruders. It was also to cater to women who wanted to be the object of increasingly normalized male masturbation. For them lingerie was sold as a tool of foreplay throughout the day, even if only for them. Its wearing was also supposed to indicate, to any who saw, sexual availability. Female customers were shamelessly sexualized by the loose pretense of the medical importance of a good fit, for which every store kept a male employee trained in measurement. This dual marketing would allow them to corner the market on both gender demographics.

Amidst all of this upheaval, Americans became more religious. Feminists gravitated to less phallocentric religions like Dianic Wicca or Pussy Worship as part of the Goddess Movement based on the academic work of Carol P. Christ in her 1978 book. Others did the opposite, creating groups like Focus on the Family, an ****-advocacy group, and the Moral Majority. These groups wrestled with the new scientific discovery by MRI of nymphomania in women, including those who had not taken the pill. This caused the medical community to declassify nymphomania as a disorder and replace it with hysteria as a symptom comparable to malnourishment. The decade of discovery ended with ‘Lust Horizons, Is the Women’s Movement Pro-Sex’ by Ellen Willis. The book popularized the concept of ‘Sex Positivity’, which is regarded sex itself as intrinsically positive or good. By contrast then, ‘Sex Negativity’ such as chastity, prudishness, or virginity, is inherently unethical.