Louise Perry, a UK-based journalist, author, and columnist, discusses her book "The Case Against the Sexual Revolution" in this YouTube video, joined by Jordan B. Peterson. The conversation critically examines the long-term impacts of the sexual revolution, particularly on young people, challenging many contemporary assumptions about sexual freedom and gender dynamics.
1. The Paradoxical Outcomes of the Sexual Revolution
- Decline in Meaningful Relationships: Despite the "astounding availability of sexual stimuli" online, young men and women are increasingly abandoning relationships, leading to less sexual activity in general. People are having more casual sex but less frequent sex, failing to form long-standing relationships.
- Demotivation for Real-Life Interaction: Immediate gratification from online pornography and sexual stimuli demotivates individuals from seeking out meaningful sexual relationships, which are "vastly better for us in every possible way" in the long term.
- "Cultural Death Grip Syndrome": This term describes a phenomenon where hypersexual public life (e.g., explicit content everywhere) coexists with a "sex recession" – people having sex later and less frequently. Over-exposure to pornography can lead to a literal "physical experience of impotence" or psychological inability to be aroused in real life, making meaningful connections difficult.
- Short-Term Hedonism vs. Long-Term Well-being: The culture, enabled by technology, is very short-term oriented, channelling people towards immediate relief. However, pursuing "hedonistic urges" without principles leads to "long-term psychological and social error" and is ultimately "pathological".