ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the signs of wider and more open sexuality in many parts of the contemporary world, as part of a commitment to a "modern" pattern of sexuality that clearly and often deliberately contrasted with some of the dominant themes of the Agricultural Age. The early 1960s saw the introduction of dramatic new birth control methods, notably a pill which could be taken by women, which would prevent conception; a new intrauterine device (IUD) also won some attention though it had side effects that quickly limited its utility. From 1991 onward, with the development of the Internet, public culture became infused with pornography as never before. Internet providers first loaded images from pornographic magazines onto the Web. In the 1990s homosexuals mounted successful lawsuits against discrimination in Japan, and in 1997 the Tokyo High Court ruled that the government must treat homosexuals as a respected minority. The World Health Organization deleted references to homosexuality as a disease in 1992.
