The Case Against the Sexual Revolution

Rejecting the grim sexual traditionalism of the past is definitely a positive thing. The sexual revolution allowed us to enjoy a heady blend of erotic freedom and personal autonomy. Right? “No,” insists Louise Perry. The image of an immoral libertine and the soulless disappointment of liberal feminism in our modern hypersexual culture do more harm than good. The main winners in the new world of rough sex, a culture of sexual relationships, and the widespread availability of pornography are a tiny minority of high-status men—not the women forced to put up with the excesses of male lust.