Redeeming Pleasure: Women Lead a Second Sexual Revolution

Abstract

We're experiencing a second sexual revolution fundamentally different from the first. While the 1960s-70s revolution focused on liberation from repression, this new movement emphasizes what to do constructively with that freedomprioritizing pleasure, wellness, and integration rather than mere liberation. Women are leading this revolution through multiple channels: Fifty Shades of Grey's 150 million copies sold to predominantly female readers, women dominating YouTube sex education and relationship advice, and figures like 66-year-old Jane Juska normalizing cross-generational discussions about seeking sexual pleasure. Core themes include sophisticated sexual communication, legitimizing pleasure as "restorative" and "transformational," and integrating sexuality into broader wellness frameworks. Because of a fragmented media landscape this revolution is largely unheralded. Specific attention is given to these topics: pleasure in Hinduism and Buddhism, polyamory, fantasy and romantic love, sexual shame in relation to development and the will, the historical depiction of sexual activity.