A Secret World of Sex
During the first half of the 20th century, sexual taboos in British society were as strong as they'd ever been. Despite this level of Victorian-inspired repression, young people were nevertheless having sex, as the fascinating documentary, A Secret World of Sex reveals.
A clean-living people?
Victorian Britain was in the grip of enormous social change, as the nation moved away from agriculture to consolidate around an urban, industrial economy. Compulsory schooling emerged alongside a powerful new bureaucracy. The aim of both was to mould a docile, productive workforce free of the perceived moral weakness of sexual indulgence. This Victorian ethos lingered long into the 20th century, championed by pressure groups like the Social Purity and Hygiene Movement. Marriage was the cornerstone of this moral code. So ingrained were these attitudes that, during the early days of the BBC, divorcees were not allowed to work for the Corporation.
Groping in the dark
Most young people in the first half of the 20th century grew up with little knowledge about sex and its consequences. In 1949, a survey conducted by the social research organisation, Mass Observation, found that only 11% of respondents had ever received any sex instruction from their mothers. Only 6% had received guidance from their fathers. The overwhelming majority of schools before World War II were single sex, adding to the mystique surrounding the whole subject. Boys and girls were discouraged from mixing. Instead, they were pressed into joining segregated groups like the Scouts and Guides, where they were lectured on the virtues of clean living.
Dire consequences
Of course, no amount of moralising can stop young people determined to have sex. But those that did were taking considerable risks, especially if they were women. Though sex outside marriage was frowned up generally, prospects for unmarried pregnant women were particularly harsh. Under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act, unmarried pregnant women could be detained indefinitely. Many spent their whole lives imprisoned in institutions merely because they had borne an illegitimate child.
Forbidden love
If life was tough for young British heterosexuals in the first half of the 20th century, it was close to unbearable if you were gay or lesbian. Laws forbidding homosexual behaviour were introduced in the late Victorian period. In addition, popular disapproval of homosexuals was encouraged by a government obsessed with conformity. As a result, gays and lesbians were vulnerable to blackmail. Your life could be ruined if you were exposed as a homosexual: many gay people found themselves trapped in heterosexual marriages rather than risk discovery. Of all the Victorian sexual taboos, homosexual repression proved to be the most persistent. Attitudes didn't begin to change significantly until the 1970s.
Naughty postcards
For any young person seeking to escape the stifling moral repression of the times, a trip to the seaside was a godsend. And it was in seaside resorts that Queen Victoria's stranglehold on British youth finally began to slacken. At the beginning of the century, most ordinary people could only afford a day trip to resorts like Blackpool, Bournemouth or Brighton. But, as living standards slowly rose, more and more Britons could pay for a few days of seaside fun. By the 1930s, groups of young people would go away together for short holidays. Free of parental interference, you could mingle with the opposite sex at last. The fashion for relatively revealing bathing costumes added to the increasingly risqué reputation of seaside resorts. As night fell, adventurous couples who had met on the promenade only hours earlier drifted off to the beach for a cuddle - or more. Outraged moralists condemned resorts like Blackpool as dens of iniquity. But it was too late. British youth had tasted freedom and there was no turning back...
Victorian Britain was in the grip of enormous social change, as the nation moved away from agriculture to consolidate around an urban, industrial economy. Compulsory schooling emerged alongside a powerful new bureaucracy. The aim of both was to mould a docile, productive workforce free of the perceived moral weakness of sexual indulgence. This Victorian ethos lingered long into the 20th century, championed by pressure groups like the Social Purity and Hygiene Movement. Marriage was the cornerstone of this moral code. So ingrained were these attitudes that, during the early days of the BBC, divorcees were not allowed to work for the Corporation.
Groping in the dark
Most young people in the first half of the 20th century grew up with little knowledge about sex and its consequences. In 1949, a survey conducted by the social research organisation, Mass Observation, found that only 11% of respondents had ever received any sex instruction from their mothers. Only 6% had received guidance from their fathers. The overwhelming majority of schools before World War II were single sex, adding to the mystique surrounding the whole subject. Boys and girls were discouraged from mixing. Instead, they were pressed into joining segregated groups like the Scouts and Guides, where they were lectured on the virtues of clean living.
Dire consequences
Of course, no amount of moralising can stop young people determined to have sex. But those that did were taking considerable risks, especially if they were women. Though sex outside marriage was frowned up generally, prospects for unmarried pregnant women were particularly harsh. Under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act, unmarried pregnant women could be detained indefinitely. Many spent their whole lives imprisoned in institutions merely because they had borne an illegitimate child.
Forbidden love
If life was tough for young British heterosexuals in the first half of the 20th century, it was close to unbearable if you were gay or lesbian. Laws forbidding homosexual behaviour were introduced in the late Victorian period. In addition, popular disapproval of homosexuals was encouraged by a government obsessed with conformity. As a result, gays and lesbians were vulnerable to blackmail. Your life could be ruined if you were exposed as a homosexual: many gay people found themselves trapped in heterosexual marriages rather than risk discovery. Of all the Victorian sexual taboos, homosexual repression proved to be the most persistent. Attitudes didn't begin to change significantly until the 1970s.
Naughty postcards
For any young person seeking to escape the stifling moral repression of the times, a trip to the seaside was a godsend. And it was in seaside resorts that Queen Victoria's stranglehold on British youth finally began to slacken. At the beginning of the century, most ordinary people could only afford a day trip to resorts like Blackpool, Bournemouth or Brighton. But, as living standards slowly rose, more and more Britons could pay for a few days of seaside fun. By the 1930s, groups of young people would go away together for short holidays. Free of parental interference, you could mingle with the opposite sex at last. The fashion for relatively revealing bathing costumes added to the increasingly risqué reputation of seaside resorts. As night fell, adventurous couples who had met on the promenade only hours earlier drifted off to the beach for a cuddle - or more. Outraged moralists condemned resorts like Blackpool as dens of iniquity. But it was too late. British youth had tasted freedom and there was no turning back...
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