"But they can hardly have been surprised. In the Fifties, marriage was the unassailable norm and all-pervasive expectation. Never before had such a high proportion of women under 30 been married - and never since. In the late Fifties, the probability of a woman marrying before the age of 50 was 96 per cent - against just 81 per cent in 1900 and 68 per cent in the 1990s." - RAPatton

"As for extra-marital affairs, there is little concrete evidence of how much was going on outside the statistically insignificant world of the open-marriage intelligentsia - the likes of philosopher A. J. Ayer, politician Anthony Crosland and author Kingsley Amis. The only guide was a dubious Mass Observation survey in 1949, which declared that one husband in four and one wife in five admitted to sexual relations outside marriage. The absence of reliable statistics did not prevent the morally upright judge Alfred (later Lord) Denning from complaining that 'we have unfortunately reached a position where adultery, or infidelity or misconduct, as soft-spoken folk call it, is considered to be a matter of little moment'. This wasn't strictly true. There was widespread condemnation of sex outside marriage (63 per cent in one sample). But more tolerance was creeping in, such as over what a husband or wife should do if the other was having an affair." - RAPatton

"Perhaps the dominant sentiment of the era was prudishness. A woman who went to see Pal Joey, the American musical, on stage in London in 1954 recoiled in horror. 'The chorus girls were near-nudes. All my natural Puritanism rose in revolt.' Or take the reaction in 1953 to newspaper extracts from the American sexologist Alfred Kinsey's study on women. 'Stupid rot. They should never print this stuff,' declared one outraged reader. 'Dreadful man,' said another. Almost anything was liable to give offence. In a memo, a BBC bigwig ordered producers of ballet on television to make sure no one would be outraged by the sight of male dancers in tights, 'especially white tights'." - RAPatton

"Surveys showed that the vast majority of young people expected to be virgins when they married, and their partners too. 'I want a pure girl, so the least I can do is to be the same myself,' said a 20-year-old London lad. Whether these aspirations matched reality is unclear. Another survey reported that 43 per cent of single women in their 20s had had sex. Those from wealthier backgrounds were more likely to have had it. But there were risks for a girl who defied the taboo on sex. Her choice of husband might be limited. Given the cult of virginity, she would be seen as 'used goods'. And there was an even more oppressive shadow hanging over girls who had gone too far, though seldom openly spoken about." - RAPatton

in 36 years, my wife has never seen her parents kiss or hug even once. - Joe Silence is ashes

Wow. - Derrick

what a sad situation! for those women... - Céu de Buarque

At the end of the day, we are all hot blooded mammals. At least the social norm has swung away from sex being a duty back to pleasure and allowing our species to continue as it has always done. - Fossil Huntress

set them FREEEEE!!! - Joe Silence is ashes

Birth control rocks! - R1CC1