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Reading Sex in the Heartland has really made me realize how much KU has changed in the last 50 years. What was taboo then wouldn’t even have people thinking twice about it now. When I think about KU today and sex the student newspaper’s annual ‘Sex on the Hill’ edition comes to mind. It amazes me that on the same campus that would expel students for having sex now produces something like ‘Sex on the Hill.’ In Sex in the Heartland Bailey discusses that the administration knew that students were having sex. But as long as they kept it private, there was no issue made of it. But if students took it public, like in the case of the two students renting a motel room for the night, there was trouble. In that incident the boy was actually expelled for staying in a motel with a girl. Fast-forward about 50 years and now you have the topic of sex discussed openly in “Sex on the Hill.” What gets people upset today is not students staying in motels together or unmarried women going on the Pill, but are pictures of students scantily clothed and in sexual poses with each other on World War II memorials. I do not think that sex could be any more public unless people are actually doing the deed on Wescoe Beach. I think that it is fine was sex is discussed more, but where is the line drawn? If we have become so much more relaxed about sex in the last 50 years, how much more relaxed will we get in the next 50 years?
-Ashley Hammond
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I think your blog brings up several interesting, good points. It is crazy thinking about the last 50 years in terms of the sexual revolution. Beth Bailey brought up a lot of instances that were ‘taboo’ in the 1950s that would seem minor in today’s society. I liked how you related the required reading this week to something every KU student can relate to – the UDK’s annual “Sex on the Hill.” I know every edition that has come out so far leads to a lot of heated discussions, especially the semi-nude photos taken by the Campinille last year.
Comment by janae25 December 3, 2009 @ 4:18 pmI agree that after reading Sex in the Heartland, activities that would have been punished back then wouldn’t even be looked be looked at as unormal today. I believe that today’s activities like Sex on the Hill have crossed the line, but in today’s sexual culture these activities are allowed because the sexual revolution discussed in the book has gradually continued. To answer your question, I do not think the line will be drawn for our culture, and the sexual culture that we live in will only grow more liberal.
Comment by Todd Maneth December 4, 2009 @ 2:48 pmi really do think it is amazing how far we have come.In some ways though i believe it is better this way than it was in the past. Sometimes it can be nasty how public it is, but it is hard to gage whether or not that is better than how oppressed it was in the past. Do you feel we are better off now or then? i say it is probably a mixture of the good and the bad. good post!
Comment by jreeves316 December 4, 2009 @ 3:26 pmThis is an interesting post! I am not sure how I would feel about being so restricted and having everyone know about my comings and goings. It seems like the women back then were treated more like children. I think we are all still trying to figure out what roles we all have in the world. Thank you for your post!
Comment by Shelley December 4, 2009 @ 8:42 pm*Shelley Stroh
Today sex is in our culture more then ever. It is a very interesting point you bring up questioning where society will be in 50 years from now, when considering the changes that have occurred in the last 50. Sex in the hill is a very interesting in terms of sex in our every day lives these days. It is true that we are exposed to sex and sexual undertones in the majority of entertainment and media we enjoy. But I believe the morals that use to exist keeping sex behind closed doors haven’t disappeared but evolved. You could argue that the emphasis put on sexual transmitted diseases, safe sex, and being responsible is the new sexual morals of this country.
Comment by Mark Garretson December 5, 2009 @ 6:42 pm-mark garretson
Sex and the Hill is not published anymore because of its content. I agree that when it was published there were a lot of heated discussions about it. I honestly do not think things will become much more relaxed in the next fifty years. I feel like society has a way of cycling back and I wouldn’t be very surprised if we re-gained some of our modesty when it came to the topic of sex. Whether that would be for better or worse is hard to say.
-Madeline
Comment by Madeline Johnson December 8, 2009 @ 6:03 pm