The Case Against the Sexual Revolution

My husband has started a tradition of giving me a controversial book for Christmas. It all started in 2021 with The Two Income Trap and I wrote about the one I received in 2022 last year. Happily, he’s continued the tradition this year with The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry. I powered through this one during the holidays and it marks the first review of 2023.

Plot summary

This book takes a look at how our society is struggling with the effects of the sexual revolution that kicked off in the 1960s. Perry reviews this from the perspective of biology, statistics and reported experiences of women. She focuses on the results the sexual revolution has for women and finds they have been far from the liberated.

Perry acknowledges herself as not religious, and does not make religious arguments in this book. Her interest in this topic came about after she worked at a rape crisis centre. There, she found her feminist views on the sexual revolution as a good thing overturned by the violence and unhappiness that she witnessed. Perry wanted a better explanation for why women were not happy and why more and more of them were experience violence in their relationships. This book is a search for that answer.

Strong arguments against the sexual revolution

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution is a compelling argument against the narrative that liberation in the sexual realm provides greatest happiness to women. Perry has thoroughly researched her topic. This is a book based on logical and factual argument. It does not take an emotive stance on an issue that is often reduced to ‘do no harm’ alone.

I found this book a refreshing take on the subject. Perry points out that free-love leaves women struggling embrace casual sex, while running up against their own nature which craves a more meaningful connection. She also notes that the pervasive attitudes about sex mean that more women consent to degrading relationships, thinking that this is a necessary part of their liberation and equality.

Perry sets out to talk to women, and I understand that her book takes that particular focus. She is not out to bash men and does not that not all men are violent or sex-craved predators. However, I did find that there was too little acknowledgment of the damage done to men by the sexul revolution. I would have liked a chapter on that. But perhaps her mainly feminist audience would be put off by that approach.

Still searching for the final ‘why’

The book provided case after case as to why the sexual revolution was bad. Compelling, certainly. But I found her conclusions about each problem she identified lacking. Perry herself acknowledges that she doesn’t quite know how to fix the mess we find ourselves in today. She does not want us to go back in time (an impossible undertaking, in any event). Perry believes that contraception is still required, while also noting that this is what allowed the sexual revolution to spin so wildly out of control. I do not agree. While contraception is still a cultural norm, I don’t see how you can really rewind the worst excesses we are experiencing.

I also think that Perry is missing a truly compelling solution because she does not believe in God. She has no deeper reason that we would want to control our sexual impulses. I can tell that some part of her is still uncomfortable with the traditional model of marriage and family. True, she does offer some solutions and these are good. Her reasoning is solid. But I feel that she misses that final piece that would bring her arguments to a more compelling conclusion.

That said, I do believe that even without religious belief, this book offers solid reasons to go against the grain when it comes to the sexual narrative. It is also a strength. You can use this book to show that religious view on sexuality are not based solely on superstition or arbitrary rules.

The content is often graphic, so please do consider your audience. While not an ‘easy’ read because of the heaviness of the topic, I would certainly suggest this book for the young women in your life who are preparing to make their own way in the world.