Erotic Wars: What Happened to the Sexual Revolution?

Despite the supposed new freedoms of the sexual revolution, many women still feel they are ``giving in'' by having sex with a prospective boyfriend, according to Rubin. In our culture, she claims, gender-based power struggles and inequality continue to mark the meeting between the sexes, with women still expected to play the role of compliant caregivers, and men equating sexual conquest with masculine identity. Rubin ( Intimate Strangers ) interviewed 375 adults and teenagers for this revealing, sensitive probe, supplementing that data with 600 additional questionnaire responses. Among her findings: ``Neither men nor women are terribly satisfied with the other in bed''; adolescents are highly tolerant of all types of sexual behavior; pornography has increasingly found its way into the lives of the ``respectable''; despite lip service paid to fear of AIDS, teens aren't using condoms. (Oct.)