Since the early 1900s to present day there has been a drastic change in what was considered appropriate for a couple to do in public, public display of affection or PDA, in America due to changes in history and the changes in sexual morality.
In my essay I plan to follow the changes in PDA and analyze what the underlying reason behind the changes are. In the early 1900s a man would court a woman by bringing her gifts and asking her parent for permission to date her and eventually to marry her. A girl wouldn't dare leave the house with a boy without permission from her parents. Reasons behind this come from the fact that most families were deeply religious and believed in no premarital sex or really no public affection before marriage and very little after marriage.
As the roaring twenties came around girls began exploring a new found individuality, independence, and consequently a new found sexuality. While not to the extent of public affection today, there was a lot more physical affection shown in public. The essay will explore what caused this drastic change in the twenties, a major part being prohibition. I still need to do more research to see what other social issues, morals and events caused this drastic change.
Since the twenties, teenagers have been more and more open with their relationships. At first, they would kiss in public very minimally unless they were in a slightly private or dark place, Currently, it is a common sight to see couples making out and sometimes doing more in a brightly lit area. Morals have loosened since the roaring twenties as women have gained more rights and different products, such as birth control, have become readily available and therefore the women are able to make decisions on there own and not be reliant on their parents or husband to decide what and when they can do things.
Some other topics I have to look into but know play a role in the changes that have occurred in PDA in America include changes in technology, such as faster way to communicate and travel, a change in the culture of relationships, what age to start dating and if hooking up was considered acceptable.
I may also look into how these themes are currently being seen in the same cycle for homosexual couples.
Finally, I've noticed the level of PDA and the morals that cause these changes are directly shown in movies during each of these time periods. I may mention this in my essay but it won't be a main focus.
At this point I have my ideas down I'm just not sure exactly how I'm going to organize all of it besides chronologically at this point.
Sources:
http://www.boundless.org/relationships/2007/a-brief-history-of-courtship-and-dating-in-america-part-1
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/09/27/public.display/
http://family.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26204/~/the-bible-on-pre-marital-sex-and-sexual-morality
http://www.countriesquest.com/north_america/usa/people/family_life/19th-century_families.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/historpedia/home/personal-group-identities/women-in-the-roaring-twenties-fall-2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rich-hawkins/its-okay-to-be-gay-just-d_b_7637046.html
https://blogs.lt.vt.edu/hist3164s13/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/fashion/18affection.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.families.com/blog/public-displays-of-affection-how-much-is-too-much
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/pda-does-it-serve-a-purpo_n_2725789.html
It looks like you are taking your essay in the right direction. You seem to have noted several potential causes for the shift. Be sure to not have this scope too broad, but I like that you noted that there are many cultural reasons for why the shift occurred, including how relationships are portrayed in entertainment and how advances in women's rights have made contributions. You are definitely on the right track!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great start to your essay. I think you shouldn't go further into looking at PDA of homosexual couples. I feel like that might deviate a bit from your thesis, and be a bit much to handle.
ReplyDeleteI have vary traditional views on this topic, it always bothers me when I see PDA in public. It is a vary interesting topic to discuss especially since we are all college student and probably see this on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteLaura, interesting topic -- even if sometimes a cringeworthy one! I agree with Hali that given your topic, I don't think you can take on the derivation of homosexual PDA, too. (It would likely take you into an entirely new shift regarding changing public opinion on homosexuality in general, which would deviate from your overall thesis and lead you too broadly.) You'll be much more successful if you're focused from the onset.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that you jumped a great deal when you moved from the roaring 20's to more current day. Work on controlling your time period more closely so we don't have huge leaps.
Hope this helps!