title: Regulation of human sexual behaviour, sex revolution and emergence of AIDS: a historical perspective.
abstract: No Society in the World permits fully free sexual behaviour. All societies utilize a variety of ways for regulation of sexual behaviour. This has been happening since antiquity. Culture also affects sexual behaviour. In western civilization there was a healthly outlook towards sexuality during Greco-Roman era. In Indian civilization also human sexuality was considered an inseparable part of life and was given a higher place in human life. Many treatises on human sexuality were written. Sex was considered as an art and was given an exalted status through the medium of sculpture work in temples of Konark & Khajuraho. But in Christian civilization sexual acts and related areas were considered immoral, debasing, dirty and abhoring. Sex-related ideas/thoughts were considered immoral in Churches and were given low status in society. Rapidly occurring social changes in 20th century- World wars I & II, urbanization, modernization, industrialization, women emancipation and strong reaction to unprecedented suppression of 19th century suppression of sexuality led to advent of sexual revolution in America & other western countries. Liberal-sex spread throughout the society. Sexual promiscuity, prostitution, homosexuality, group-sex were socially accepted on a wide scale. Presumably as a result of these tendencies a disease like AIDS has now spread from America to the whole world. Present article is an effort of analysis of historical perspective of this problem.
authors.affiliation: Community Medicine, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049692:History, Early Modern 1451-1600; D049691:History, Medieval; D049711:History, Modern 1601-; D011639:Public Opinion; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000266:history*