When the sexual revolution rolled out across the West in the 1960–70s, Ukrainians lived behind the Iron Curtain. Officially, we had no ‘sex,’ but just a ‘gender relationship’. People reproduced but didn’t talk about it.
Several families could live in a shared communal apartment. If couples wanted intimacy, they had to become inventive or get married right away. A few examples of Soviet-style bans may explain why our ‘90s erupted in libertinism. Unmarried couples could not book a hotel in Soviet Ukraine. Those who carried on affairs might end up in court. A person risked jail by being homosexual or for watching porn. Even erotic magazines were impossible to buy, and we couldn’t buy erotic magazines, and censors cut all the sexy scenes from classic movies.
When the USSR collapsed, taboos evaporated, as well. And this ment that significant change was on the cards. When everyone made money as he/ she could, sex also gained a commercial appeal. A famous ‘90s motto ‘Sell yourself!’ turned the body into a commodity. And thus, prostitution flourished, call-girls hung out everywhere, strip shows lured fun-seekers, and semi-naked girls danced both in dives and reputable hotels.
In the 90s, erotica erupted in Ukraine. A world- leading porn star Cicciolina even came to Kyiv to celebrate her birthday in 1995. The yellow press covered the event, and little by little, articles about ‘it’ emerged on pages of such newspapers as Speed-Info. When sexuality became legal, nude ladies posed everywhere: on posters, calendars, in magazines. Exposed breasts appeared in every other movie and even on the stage. Wealthy men held crazy parties and gifted each other birthday cakes with nude performers concealed inside or swimming sessions with naked girls in the night pool.
Back then, male sexuality was the only game in town, while sexualization replaced female sexuality. Who cared what women wanted or whether they wanted any sex at all?
In 1991, Ukraine abolished criminal punishment for homosexuality and we learned about sexual minorities. The movement for LGBT rights began spreading across Ukraine in 1993.
And then the 2000s swayed us in the opposite direction.
The sexual revolution of the ‘90s coincided with rave culture and psychedelics — all aimed at getting us to loosen up. Restrained millennials, on the contrary, embraced self-control: no drugs, no alcohol, no disorderly sexual relations. Puritanism came into fashion with adoption of the law ‘On the Protection of Public Morality’ under President Yushchenko. Young people reversed to family values and treated marriage differently ffrom their parents. The Ys don’t consider sexual emancipation to be paramount; they had other joys. Contemplating settling down and having children one day, they don’t rush into marriage. Ambitious millennials take their time before making that crucial decision. Many prefer first to make a career and earn before starting a serious relationship.
Zoomers, whose worldview formed within the 2010s, make love less frequently than their parents being young. At first glance, this might strike most readers as odd. After all, the Z Generation has had the most comfortable environment for physical intimacy. Premarital sex is no longer frowned upon. Social networks and dating apps have simplified finding partners and high-quality contraceptives are pretty affordable. So what has happened? It’s as simple as the sum of all of mentioned above: the new generation faces the information overload about sex. Psychological and sexual education has taught Zoomers to listen to themselves and reflect. They understand themselves better than their X-parents and make careful choices. Know how to guard their boundaries and say ‘No,’ Zs make love only if they want to. And with partners who, in their eyes, are worth it. Their credo is ‘quality, not quantity.’
New people, Millennials and Zoomers, are more tolerant regarding gender issues. They are not as obsessed with sex as Xs. To Millenials, sex is terrific, but there is so much more in the world worth their most valuable resource — time.
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