However, prior to the 1950s, it was considered appropriate for a girl to dance with a variety of partners, even if she came to a dance with a particular young man. By the mid-1950s, views changed, and it was considered insulting to cut-in on someone else's date (Sombat). In addition, rock and roll, which featured more suggestive lyrics than prior forms of music, seemed to encourage casual sexual contact between men and women. Rock music has only grown more suggestive with time, as have rock stars, helping create a popular culture that thrives on marketing sexuality.
Part of these changing attitudes was reflected in the sexual behavior of teenagers in the 1950s. Modern people have an image of the 1950s as a chaste and innocent time. However, sexual relations changed dramatically in the 1950s, even before the sexual revolution of the 1960s. First, it became more acceptable to engage in mild public displays of affection, such as kissing, hugging or hand holding (Sombat). However, it was the increased privacy that dating couples enjoyed in the 1950s that really led to an increase in sexual behavior among teens. Much of this privacy could be attributed to automobiles, which provided teenagers with a zone of mobile privacy. While the outward image may have been one of chastity, the reality is that dating teenagers in the 1950s were expected to participate in some degree of sexual activity. " in fact, the ideas of 'necking' and 'petting' were prolific and understood by everyone who participated in dating" (Sombat). While intercourse may have remained somewhat taboo for young couples, making out was not. During the 1950s, adults were not only aware that teenagers were engaging in sexual behaviors, but also that cars provided them with the opportunity to do so. Therefore, they tried to manipulate times and locations in a way to make sex impossible (Sombat).
Modern dating rituals may be rooted in the rituals established in the 1950s, but it would be impossible to confuse the two. Instead, drastic changes have occurred in the half-century since the 1950s. For example, in the 1950s, dating was preparation for marriage, with even young dating couples considered to be playing marriage. However, that does not mean that young couples were expected to marry. On the contrary, in 1953 a sociologist wrote that "each boy and girl ideally should date 25 to 50 eligible marriage partners before making his or her final decision" (Burzumato). Therefore, an emphasis on role-playing for marriage did not mean that teenagers were expected to find marriage partners immediately.
Currently, while dating can still be preparation for marriage, with people marrying at younger ages and sexual activity outside of marriage being the norm, dating...
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