10 Ways Sex in the Seventies Was Way Different

As the new season of Masters of Sex enters the “Me Decade,” we thought we’d take a look back at sex in the 70s, a freewheeling bacchanal that William Masters and Virginia Johnson were at least partially responsible for creating. Masters of Sex, Sundays at 10PM ET/PT.

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On Oct 7, 2016
1

No Rubbers, No Worries

This was an era after the Sexual Revolution of the 60s, but before the scourge of AIDS. Sex was on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and unlike today, no one gave safety a second thought. STDs were more a dark joke than a real concern. Women were on the pill. As a result, sex was often fun and spontaneous. You met someone, you wanted them, you went for it.

2

Folks Were Still Glib About Women’s Lib

By the 1970s, women were entering the workforce in record numbers, but that didn’t mean chauvinism was dead. In fact, the term “sexual harassment in the workplace” wasn’t even coined until the 80s, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gave it an official definition. As shocking as it is to think about, when the decade first dawned, marital rape wasn’t considered illegal, abortion was still against the law, and women could still be fired just for being pregnant.

3

X-Rated Movies Were Mainstream

While it may feel like we’re in the “Golden Age of Porn” these days, the 1970s were actually the true heyday of dirty movies. Theaters screened them, critics started taking them seriously, and couples would spend their date nights watching other people get off.

4

Sex Education Was New and Weird

Before the 1970s, what little sex education there was relied heavily on innuendo, shame and outright lies. As the “Feel Good Decade” dawned, a new commitment to teaching kids the truth about their bodies swept the nation. With it came an industry of textbooks and films, meant to lay things out with brutal honesty. And, as anyone knows who’s ever sat through a sex-ed film knows, it often veered into high camp more than real education.

5

Disco Dating Was The Way To Go

Evolving out of the freewheeling 60s, discos provided randy Boomers a place to hook up as they entered adulthood. If you were famous, you could hit up Studio 54, and rub up against the likes of David Bowie and Mick Jagger. For the rest of the world, low rent discos popped up just about everywhere, full of BeeGees music, wide lapels and regretful nights.

6

Hair Was Everywhere

In the 1970s, hair was hot. The more you had, the hotter you were. No one was waxing. No one even bothered to trim. If you had it, you flaunted it, no matter where it was growing.

7

Sex Had An Instruction Manual

Sex went mainstream in the 70s, resulting in a bourgeoning industry of intercourse instruction manuals. From "Our Bodies Ourselves" to "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)", they suddenly seemed to be everywhere. But none were more popular, or made more of a cultural impact, than "The Joys of Sex." Famous for its graphic drawings of shaggy couples getting it on, the book spent eleven weeks at the top of The New York Times bestseller list.

8

It Was The Best of Times/Worst of Times for the Gay Scene

The 70s were heady days for the homosexual community. On one hand, there was a growing social acceptance and sexual freedom that made it a high point for a social sect that had long seen discrimination. Gay bars were popping up everywhere, and “Gay Pride” was coming into its own. Still, homosexuality was being diagnosed as a disease all the way up to 1973, and William Masters himself was espousing the notion that being homosexual was a choice, and offering conversation therapy as a cure.

9

T and A Took Over TV

From braless “Angels” to Daisy’s Daisy Dukes, Network TV in the 70s went all in when it came to skin. Wonder Woman was stacked, and Suzanne Somers squeezed into some short shorts. If you were a female star, you were sure to show up in a bikini, a negligee or a towel before the hour was up. Jiggle TV was the name of the game, led by ABC in the mid-70s, who rode scantily clad stars to Number 1 in the ratings. Soon, all the networks were trying to copy ABC’s success. By 1978, CBS started using the tagline “Turn us on, we’ll turn you on.”

10

Swingers Went Mainstream

Monogamy was for squares in the 70s. Plato’s Retreat, a legendary swingers club in New York City, became a sensation, welcoming celebrities, porn stars, and wealthy couples looking to mix things up. It seemed like swingers were everywhere, shaking off the outdated idea of one man and one woman.

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