Chapter 4, Sex Control Summary and Analysis

The sexual behaviors of youth in the first four decades of the twentieth century did not fundamentally differ from their nineteenth century counterparts. The activities were similar. What changed was how the sexual acts were perceived. The nineteenth century did not focus on 'youth' as the category did not exist. Twentieth-century discourse was based on youth and heterosexual premarital experience.

Many youth defined themselves as youth through public sexuality and sexual experimentation. New sexual conventions grew and produced tension between generations. The rise of national youth culture changed everything. The divisions between young and old mattered more than divisions between boy and girl. The power of the family declined and women left home for work; as a result, local youth cultures started earlier on campus.

Women and men started to touch each other more, often holding hands...