NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Free love

The term free love has been used since at least the nineteenth century to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage, especially for women. Much of the free-love tradition has a civil libertarian philosophy that seeks freedom from State regulation and Church interference in personal relationships. In addition, some free-love writing has argued that both men and women have the right to sexual pleasure. In the Victorian era, this was a radical notion. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... American Civil Rights Movement is one of the most famous social movements of the 20th century. ... Matrimony redirects here. ... Civil libertarian refers to one who is actively concerned with the protection of individual liberty. ... For other uses, see Freedom. ... For other uses, see State (disambiguation). ... Look up church in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An interpersonal relationship is some relationship or connection between two people. ... The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...

While the phrase free love is often associated with promiscuity in the popular imagination, especially in reference to the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, historically the free-love movement has not advocated multiple sexual partners or short-term sexual relationships. Rather, it has argued that love relations that are freely entered into should not be regulated by law. Thus, free-love practice may include long-term monogamous relationships or even celibacy, but would not include institutional forms of polygamy, such as a king and his wives and concubines. Promiscuous redirects here. ... // The counterculture of the 1960s was a social revolution between the period of 1960 and 1973[1] that began in the United States as a reaction against the conservative social norms of the 1950s, the political conservatism (and perceived social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US government... Faithfulness redirects here. ... Polygamy has been a feature of human culture since earliest history. ...

Laws of particular concern to free love movements have included those that prevent an unmarried couple from living together, and those that regulate adultery and divorce, as well as age of consent, birth control, homosexuality, abortion, incest, and prostitution; although not all free lovers agree on these issues. The abrogation of individual rights in marriage is also a concern—for example, some jurisdictions do not recognise spousal rape or treat it less seriously than non-spousal rape. Free-love movements since the 19th century have also defended the right to publicly discuss sexuality and have battled obscenity laws. This article is about the act of adultery. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. ... Age of consent laws Worldwide While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes,[1] when used with reference to criminal law the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be capable of legally giving informed consent to any... For other uses, see Birth control (disambiguation). ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Incest is defined as sexual intercourse or any form of sexual activity between closely related persons, especially within the nuclear family. ... Whore redirects here. ... Spousal rape is non-consensual sexual assault in which the perpetrator is the victims spouse. ... Obscenity in Latin obscenus, meaning foul, repulsive, detestable, (possibly derived from ob caenum, literally from filth). The term is most often used in a legal context to describe expressions (words, images, actions) that offend the prevalent sexual morality of the time. ...

In the twentieth century, some free-love proponents extended the critique of marriage to argue that marriage as a social institution encourages emotional possessiveness and psychological enslavement.

Free love and the women's movement

The history of free love is entwined with the history of feminism. From the late 18th century, leading feminists, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, have challenged the institution of marriage, and many have advocated its abolition. A married woman was solely a wife and mother, denying her the opportunity to pursue other occupations; sometimes this was legislated, as with bans on married women and mothers in the teaching profession. In 1855, free lover Mary Gove Nichols described marriage as the "annihilation of women," explaining that women were considered to be men's property in law and public sentiment, making it possible for tyrannical men to deprive their wives of all freedom.^[1] For example, the law allowed a husband to physically discipline his wife. In response, free love feminists stressed the anarchist concept of self-ownership in the context of sexual self-determination. Free lovers like Nichols argued that many children are born into unloving marriages out of compulsion, but should instead be the result of choice and affection—yet children born out of wedlock did not have the same rights as children with married parents. Feminists redirects here. ... Mary Wollstonecraft (circa 1797) by John Opie Mary Wollstonecraft (27 April 1759 â€“ 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher and feminist. ... For university teachers, see professor. ... For other uses, see Freedom. ... Self-ownership or sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty is the condition where an individual has the exclusive moral right to control his or her own body and life. ...

Sex, to proponents of free love, was not only about reproduction. Access to birth control was considered a means to women's independence, and leading birth-control activists like Margaret Sanger also embraced free love. For other uses, see Birth control (disambiguation). ... Margaret Higgins Sanger (September 14, 1879 â€“ September 6, 1966) was an American birth control activist, an advocate of negative eugenics, and the founder of the American Birth Control League (which eventually became Planned Parenthood). ...

However, many of the leaders of first-wave feminism attacked free love. To them, women's suffering could be traced to the moral degradation of men, and by contrast, women were portrayed as virtuous and in control of their passions, and they should serve as a model for men's behaviour. Some feminists of the late 20th century would interpret the free-love ethic of the 1960s and 1970s as a manipulative strategy against a woman's ability to say no to sex. First-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the United Kingdom and the United States. ...

History of free love movements

Historical precedents

A number of utopian social movements throughout history have shared a vision of free love. The Essenes, who lived in the Middle East from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD apparently shunned both marriage and slavery.^[2] They also renounced wealth, lived communally, and were pacifist^[3] vegetarians. An early Christian sect known as the Adamites—which flourished in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries—also rejected marriage. They practised nudism while engaging in worship and considered themselves free of original sin. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (878x969, 277 KB) Garden of Earthly Delights (Ecclesias Paradise), painted by Hieronymus Bosch part of The Garden of Earthly Delights Originally uploaded to the English Wikipedia by w:User:Blankfaze. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (878x969, 277 KB) Garden of Earthly Delights (Ecclesias Paradise), painted by Hieronymus Bosch part of The Garden of Earthly Delights Originally uploaded to the English Wikipedia by w:User:Blankfaze. ... The Garden of Earthly Delights is the center panel of a triptych by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. ... Hieronymus Bosch, (latinized, actually Jheronimus Bosch; his real name Jeroen van Aken) (c. ... Free Sprit redirects here. ... The Essenes were a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. Many separate, but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... (Redirected from 1st century AD) (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... Adamites being persecuted Adamites, or Adamians, were adherents of an early Christian sect (considered heresy by the Roman Catholic church) that flourished in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th century. ... A nudist sunning herself on a beach in Formentera. ... Original Sin redirects here. ...

In the 6th century AD, adherents of Mazdakism in pre-Muslim Persia apparently supported a kind of free love in the place of marriage,^[4] and like many other free-love movements, also favored vegetarianism, pacificism, and communalism. Some writers have posited a conceptual link between the rejection of private property and the rejection of marriage as a form of ownership. One folk story from the period that contains a mention of a free-love (and nudist) community under the sea is "The Tale of Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman" from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (c. 8th century).^[5] Mazdak was a proto-socialist Persian philosopher who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian king Kavadh I. He was hanged and his followers were massacred by Khosrau I, Kavadhs son. ... For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... A variety of vegetarian food ingredients Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes all animal flesh, including poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, and slaughter by-products. ... Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. ... In many parts of the world, communalism is a modern term that describes a broad range of social movements and social theories which are in some way centered upon the community. ... This page deals with property as ownership rights. ... Queen Scheherazade tells her stories to King Shahryar. ...

Karl Kautsky, writing in 1895, noted that a number of "communistic" movements throughout the Middle Ages also rejected marriage.^[6] Typical of such movements, the Cathars of 10th to 14th century Western Europe freed followers from all moral prohibition and religious obligation, but respected those who lived simply, avoided the taking of human or animal life, and were celibate. Women had an uncommon equality and autonomy, even as religious leaders. The Cathars and similar groups (the Waldenses, Apostle brothers, Beghards and Beguines, Lollards, and Hussites) were branded as heretics by the Roman Catholic Church and were brutally suppressed. Other movements shared their critique of marriage but advocated free sexual relations rather than celibacy, such as the Brothers and Sisters of the Free Spirit, Taborites, and Picards. Karl Kautsky (October 16, 1854 - October 17, 1938) was a leading theoretician of social democracy. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Catharism. ... A current understanding of Western Europe. ... Celibacy may refer either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. ... The Waldensians were followers of Peter Waldo (or Valdes or Vaudes); they called themselves the Poor men of Lyon, the Poor of Lombardy, or the Poor. ... A Roman Catholic religious community of men active in the 13th and 14th century. ... Beguines are lay sisterhoods made up of women who devote themselves to a life of religion without taking monastic vows. ... Lollardy or Lollardry was the political and religious movement of the Lollards in late 14th century and early 15th century England. ... The Hussites comprised an early Protestant Christian movement, followers of Jan Hus. ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ... Catholic Church redirects here. ... Free Sprit redirects here. ... The Taborites (Czech TÃ¡boritÃ©, singular TÃ¡borita) were members of a religious protestant community centered on the Bohemian city of TÃ¡bor during the Hussite Wars in the 15th century. ... The Picards were a sect of Neo-Adamites in the sixteenth century and earlier, in the Flemish Netherlands and in Bohemia. ...

18th and 19th century Europe

In 1789, radical Swedenborgians August Nordenskjöld and C.B. Wadström published the Plan for a Free Community,^[7] in which they proposed the establishment of a society of sexual liberty, where slavery was abolished and the "European" and the "Negro" lived together in harmony. In the treatise, marriage is criticised as a form of political repression. The challenges to traditional morality and religion brought by the Age of Enlightenment and the emancipatory politics of the French Revolution created an environment where such ideas could flourish. A group of radical intellectuals in England (sometimes known as the English Jacobins) supported the French Revolution, abolitionism, feminism, and free love. Among them was William Blake, who explicitly compares the sexual oppression of marriage to slavery in works such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x679, 99 KB) Source: http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (480x679, 99 KB) Source: http://www. ... For other persons named William Blake, see William Blake (disambiguation). ... Swedenborgianism is the ecclesiastical organization of beliefs developed from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 â€“ 1772). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Negro is a term referring to people of Black African ancestry. ... The Age of Enlightenment (French: ; Italian: ; German: ; Spanish: ; Swedish: ; Polish: ) was an eighteenth-century movement in Western philosophy. ... The French Revolution (1789â€“1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... In the context of the French Revolution, a Jacobin originally meant a member of the Jacobin Club (1789-1794), but even at that time, the term Jacobins had been popularly applied to all promulgators of extreme revolutionary opinions: for example, Jacobin democracy is synonymous with totalitarian democracy. ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ... For other persons named William Blake, see William Blake (disambiguation). ... Slave redirects here. ...

Another member of the circle was pioneering English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft felt that women should not give up freedom and control of their sexuality, and thus didn't marry her partner, Gilbert Imlay, despite the two having a child together. Though the relationship ended badly, due in part to the discovery of Imlay's infidelity, Wollstonecraft's belief in free love survived. She developed a relationship with early English anarchist William Godwin, who shared her free love ideals, and published on the subject throughout his life. However, the two did decide to marry. Their child, Mary took up with the English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley at a young age. Percy also wrote in defence of free love (and vegetarianism) in the prose notes of Queen Mab (1813), in his essay On Love (c1815) and in the poem Epipsychidion (1821): Mary Wollstonecraft (circa 1797) by John Opie Mary Wollstonecraft (27 April 1759 â€“ 10 September 1797) was a British writer, philosopher and feminist. ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 â€“ 7 April 1836) was an English political and miscellaneous writer, considered one of the important precursors of both utilitarian and liberal anarchist thought. ... Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (nÃ©e Godwin) (30 August 1797 â€“ 1 February 1851) was an English romantic/gothic novelist and the author of Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 â€“ July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyric poets of the English language. ... In English folklore, Queen Mab is a fairy. ...

Sharing the free-love ideals of the earlier social movements—as well as their feminism, pacifism, and simple communal life—were the utopian socialist communities of early-19th-century France and Britain, associated with writers and thinkers such as Henri de Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier in France and Robert Owen in England. Fourier, who coined the term feminism, argued that true freedom could only occur without masters, without the ethos of work, and without suppressing passions: the suppression of passions is not only destructive to the individual, but to society as a whole. He argued that all sexual expressions should be enjoyed as long as people are not abused, and that "affirming one's difference" can actually enhance social integration. The Saint-Simonian feminist Pauline Roland took a free-love stance against marriage, having four children in the 1830s, all of whom bore her name. Utopian Socialism is the term for the first currents of modern Socialist thought. ... Henri de Saint-Simon Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon (October 17, 1760 â€“ May 19, 1825), the founder of French socialism, was born in Paris. ... This article is about the French utopian socialist philosopher. ... For other uses, see Robert Owen (disambiguation). ... Pauline Roland (1805â€”1852) was a French feminist and socialist. ...

19th century United States

Christian socialist writer John Humphrey Noyes has been credited with coining the term 'free love' in the mid-nineteenth century, although he preferred to use the term 'complex marriage'. Noyes founded the Oneida Society in 1848, a utopian community that "[rejected] conventional marriage both as a form of legalism from which Christians should be free and as a selfish institution in which men exerted rights of ownership over women". He found scriptural justification: "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven" (Matt. 22:30).^[8] Noyes also supported eugenics; and only certain people were allowed to become parents. Image File history File linksMetadata Nast_lampoons_Woodhull. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Nast_lampoons_Woodhull. ... Thomas Nast (September 27, 1840 â€“ December 7, 1902) was a famous German-American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist in the 19th century and is considered to be the father of American political cartooning. ... Victoria Woodhull Victoria Claflin Woodhull (September 23, 1838 â€“ June 9, 1927) was an American suffragist who was one of the early leaders of the American womans suffragette movement in the 19th century. ... John Humphrey Noyes (September 3, 1811 â€“ April 13, 1886) was an American utopian socialist. ... Group marriage or circle marriage is a form of polygamous marriage in which more than one man and more than one woman form a family unit, with all the members of the group marriage being considered to be married to all the other members of the group marriage, and all... The Oneida Community was a utopian commune founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848 in Oneida, New York. ... Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference [7], 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ...

A number of individualist anarchists and feminists in the U.S. embraced free love from the late 19th century, such as Josiah Warren, Lois Waisbrooker, Lillian Harman, Moses Harman, Angela Heywood, Ezra Heywood, and Benjamin Tucker. They viewed sexual freedom as a clear, direct expression of an individual's self-ownership, stressing women's rights since most sexual laws discriminated against women. A number of communities from a range of class backgrounds adopted free-love ideas, which sought to separate the state from sexual matters, such as marriage, adultery, divorce, age of consent, and birth control. In politics, individualist anarchism is a variety of anarchism that emphasises the importance of the individual. ... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... Josiah Warren (1798-1874) was an individualist anarchist, inventor, musician, and author in the United States. ... Moses Harman (1830â€“1910) was an American schoolteacher and publisher noteable for his staunch support for womens rights. ... Ezra Heywood was a 19th century North American individualist anarchist, slavery abolitionist, and feminist. ... Benjamin Ricketson Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (April 17, 1854 â€“ June 22, 1939) was the leading proponent of American individualist anarchism in the 19th century. ... Self-ownership or sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty is the condition where an individual has the exclusive moral right to control his or her own body and life. ...

Elements of the free-love movement also had links to abolitionist movements, drawing parallels between slavery and "sexual slavery" (marriage), and forming alliances with black activists. They also had many opponents, and Moses Harman spent two years in jail after a court determined that a journal he published was "obscene" under the notorious Comstock Law. In particular, the court objected to three letters to the editor, one of which described the plight of a woman who had been raped by her husband, tearing stitches from a recent operation after a difficult childbirth and causing severe hemorrhaging. The letter lamented the woman's lack of legal recourse. Ezra Heywood, who had already been prosecuted under the Comstock Law for a pamphlet attacking marriage, reprinted the letter in solidarity with Harman and was also arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. This article is about the abolition of slavery. ... Sexual slavery is a special case of slavery which includes various different practices: forced prostitution single-owner sexual slavery ritual slavery, sometimes associated with traditional religious practices slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes where sex is common or permissible In general, the nature of slavery means that the slave is... The Comstock Law was a 19th century United States law that made it illegal to send any obscene, lewd, or lascivious books through the mail. ...

Victorian feminist Victoria Woodhull (1838–1927), the first woman to run for presidency in the U.S. in 1872, was also called "the high priestess of free love". In 1871, Woodhall wrote: Victoria Woodhull Victoria Claflin Woodhull (September 23, 1838 â€“ June 9, 1927) was an American suffragist who was one of the early leaders of the American womans suffragette movement in the 19th century. ...

The women's movement, free love and Spiritualism were three strongly linked movements at the time, and Woodhull was also a spiritualist leader. Like Noyes, she also supported eugenics. Fellow social reformer and educator Mary Gove Nichols (1810-1884) was happily married (to her second husband), and together they published a newspaper and wrote medical books and articles, a novel, and a treatise on marriage, in which they argued the case for free love. Both Woodhull and Nichols eventually repudiated free love. Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference [7], 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ...

Publications of the movement in the second half of the nineteenth century included Nichols' Monthly, The Social Revolutionist, Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly (ed. Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Clafin), The Word (ed. Ezra Heywood), Lucifer, the Light-Bearer (ed. Moses Harman) and the German-language Detroit newspaper Der Arme Teufel (ed. Robert Reitzel). Organisations included the New England Free Love League, founded with the assistance of Benjamin Tucker as a spin off from the New England Labor Reform League (NELRL). A minority of freethinkers also supported free love.^[9] The Word may mean: The Word (television) The Word (song) by The Beatles The WÃ¸rd, a recurring segument on Stephen Colberts The Colbert Report The Word (magazine) The Bible Ordet (aka The Word), the 1955 Danish film The Word (band) The Word & the Void This is a disambiguation... Lucifer the Lightbearer was an individualist-anarchist journal published by Moses Harman in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logical principles and not be compromised by authority, tradition, or any other dogma. ...

Turn of the 20th century

United Kingdom

Toward the end of the 19th century in the United Kingdom, free love was a topic of discussion among a minority of freethinkers, socialists, and feminists. Many of them were associated with The Fellowship of the New Life, such as Olive Schreiner and Edward Carpenter. Carpenter was one of the first writers to defend homosexuality in the English language. Like many of the movements before them who were associated with free love, the group also favored a simple communal life, pacifism, and vegetarianism. The Fellowship of the New Life was an organization in the 19th century, most famous for a splinter group, the Fabian Society. ... Olive Schreiner (Olive Emilie Albertina Schreiner) (March 24, 1855 â€“ December 11, 1920) was a South African writer. ... Edward Carpenter in 1875. ...

Australia

There was also an interest in free love among the late 19th-century Left in Australia. In 1886, the Melbourne Anarchist Club led a debate on the topic, and a couple of years later released an anonymous pamphlet on the subject: 'Free Love—Explained and Defended' (possibly written by David Andrade or Chummy Fleming). Newcastle libertarian Alice Winspear, the wife of pioneer socialist William Robert Winspear, wrote: "Let us have freedom—freedom for both man and woman—freedom to earn our bread in whatever vocation is best suited to us, and freedom to love where we like, and to live only with those whom we love, and by whom we are loved in return." A couple of decades later, the Melbourne anarchist feminist poet Lesbia Harford also championed free love. John William Chummy Fleming (1863 - January 25, 1950) was a pioneer unionist, agitator for the unemployed, and anarchist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... David Andrade (1859-1928) was an Australian anarchist. ... John William Chummy Fleming (1863 - January 25, 1950) was a pioneer unionist, agitator for the unemployed, and anarchist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre (also known as The CBD). ... Lesbia Harford (9 April 1891 â€“ 5 July 1927) was an Australian poet. ...

United States

Anarchist free-love movements continued into early 1900s in bohemian circles in New York's Greenwich Village. A group of Villagers lived free-love ideals and promoted them in the political journal The Masses and its sister publication The Little Review, a literary journal. Incorporating influences from the writings of English homosexual socialist Edward Carpenter and international sexologist Havelock Ellis, women such as Emma Goldman campaigned for a range of sexual freedoms, including homosexuality and access to contraception. Other notable figures among the Greenwich-Village scene who have been associated with free love include Edna St. Vincent Millay, Max Eastman, Crystal Eastman, Floyd Dell, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Ida Rauh, Hutchins Hapgood, and Neith Boyce. Dorothy Day also wrote passionately in defence of free love, women's rights, and contraception—but later, after converting to Catholicism, she criticised the sexual revolution of the sixties. This article is about the decade starting in 1900 and ending in 1909. ... For other uses, see Bohemian (disambiguation). ... The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (IPA pronunciation: ), also called simply the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named after Greenwich, London. ... June 1914 issue of The Masses. ... The Little Review was a American literary magazine founded by Margaret Caroline Anderson which published modernist American and English writers between 1914 and 1929, most famously James Joyces Ulysses. ... Edward Carpenter in 1875. ... Henry Havelock Ellis (February 2, 1859 - July 8, 1939), known as Havelock Ellis, was a British doctor, sexual psychologist and social reformer. ... Theory Issues Culture By region Lists Anarchism Portal Politics Portal Â· Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 â€“ May 14, 1940) aka Red Emma, was a Lithuanian-born anarchist known for her writings and speeches. ... Edna St. ... Max Eastman in Moscow (1922) Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883â€“March 25, 1969) was a socialist American writer and patron of the Harlem Renaissance, later known for being an anti-leftist. ... Crystal Eastman (June 25, 1881 - July 8, 1928) was a lawyer, antimilitarist, feminist, socialist, and journalist. ... Floyd Dell (born 28th June, 1887) is an U.S. playwright, socialist. ... Mabel Dodge Sterne Luhan, nÃ©e Ganson (February 26, 1879 - August 13, 1962) was a wealthy American patron of the arts, and a key figure in the Greenwich Village community in the years 1912 â€“ 1916. ... Hutchins Hapgood (Chicago, May 21, 1869 - Provincetown, MA, November 19, 1944) was an U.S. journalist, author, and anarchist. ... Neith Boyce (1872 - 1951) was a U.S. novelist and playwright. ... This image has an uncertain copyright status and is pending deletion. ...

Japan

The anarchist feminist Noe Ito (1895-1923) and her lover, fellow anarchist Sakae Osugi (1885-1923), promoted free love in Japan. They were murdered by a squad of military police. Their story is told in the 1969 movie Erosu purasu Gyakusatsu (Eros Plus Massacre). Ito Noe (伊藤野枝 Itō Noe, 21 January 1895 - 16 September 1923 in Imajuku, Fukuoka, Japan) was a Japanese anarchist and a social critic, author and feminist. ... Osugi Sakae (大杉栄 Osugi Sakae, January 17, 1885 - September 16, 1923) was an anarchist and was killed after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. ... The Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command providing security coverage at the Padang in Singapore during the National Day Parade in 2000. ... Eros + Massacre (Japanese title: Erosu purasu Gyakusatsu) is a Japanese black and white film made in 1969. ...

USSR

After the October Revolution in Russia, Alexandra Kollontai became the most prominent woman in the Soviet administration. Kollontai was also a champion of free love. In what may be an apocryphal conversation, she defended free love to Lenin, saying "Love should be free, like drinking water from a glass." Lenin is supposed to have replied, "but who wants to drink from a soiled glass?"^{[citation needed]} Clara Zetkin recorded that Lenin opposed free love as "completely un-Marxist, and moreover, anti-social".^[10] Zetkin also recounted Lenin's denouncement of plans to organise Hamburg’s women prostitutes into a “special revolutionary militant section”: he saw this as “corrupt and degenerate.” For other uses, see October Revolution (disambiguation). ... Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (ÐÐ»ÐµÐºÑÐ°ÌÐ½Ð´Ñ€Ð° ÐœÐ¸Ñ…Ð°ÌÐ¹Ð»Ð¾Ð²Ð½Ð° ÐšÐ¾Ð»Ð»Ð¾Ð½Ñ‚Ð°ÌÐ¹ â€” born Domontovich, Ð”Ð¾Ð¼Ð¾Ð½Ñ‚Ð¾ÌÐ²Ð¸Ñ‡) (March 31 [O.S. March 19] 1872 - March 9, 1952) was a Russian Communist revolutionary, first as a member of the Mensheviks, then from 1914 on as a Bolshevik. ... Lenin redirects here. ... Stamp Clara Zetkin, maiden name Eissner (5 July 1857 - 20 June 1933) was an influential socialist German politician and a fighter for womens rights. ...

Despite the traditional marital lives of Lenin and most Bolsheviks, they believed that sexual relations were outside the jurisdiction of the state. The Soviet government abolished centuries-old Czarist regulations on personal life, which had prohibited homosexuality and made it difficult for women to obtain divorce permits or to live singly. There is evidence that this caused a small-scale renaissance in non-traditional love, not only among intellectuals but also the working class.^{[citation needed]} However, by the end of the 1920s, Stalin's centrist faction had taken over the Communist Party and begun to implement socially conservative policies. Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder, and free love was further demonized. Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] â€“ March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from...

France

In the bohemian districts of Montmartre and Montparnasse, many were determined to shock the "bourgeois" sensibilities of the society they grew up in; many, such as the anarchist Benoît Broutchoux, favored free love. At the same time, the cross-dressing radical activist Madeleine Pelletier practised celibacy, distributed birth-control devices and information, and performed abortions. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 444 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (653 Ã— 881 pixel, file size: 119 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Benoit Broutchoux french syndicalist and anarchist File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 444 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (653 Ã— 881 pixel, file size: 119 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Benoit Broutchoux french syndicalist and anarchist File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Montmartre seen from the centre Georges Pompidou (1897), a painting by Camille Pissarro of the boulevard that led to Montmartre as seen from his hotel room. ... The Montparnasse Tower, which at 209m was the tallest building in Western Europe when it was built. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ... This articles is about cross-dressing in general, that is the act of wearing the clothing of another gender for any reason. ... Madeleine Pelletier dressed like a man to distance herself from femininity, a concept that she saw as a sign of the oppression of women Dr. Madeleine Pelletier (May 18, 1874 - December 19, 1939) was a French psychiatrist, and a feminist and socialist activist. ...

Germany

In Germany, from 1891 to 1919, the Verband Fortschrittlicher Frauenvereine (League of Progressive Women's Associations) called for a boycott of marriage and for the enjoyment of sexuality. Founded by Lily Braun and Minna Cauer, the league also aimed to organise prostitutes into labor unions, taught contraception, and supported the right to abortion and the abolition of criminal penalties against homosexuality, as well as running child-care programs for single mothers. In 1897, teacher and writer Emma Trosse published a brochure titled Ist freie Liebe Sittenlosigkeit? ("Is free love immoral?"). The worldwide homosexual emancipation movement also began in Germany in the late 19th century, and many of the thinkers whose work inspired sexual liberation in the 20th century were also from the German-speaking world, such as Sigmund Freud, Otto Gross, Herbert Marcuse, and Wilhelm Reich. Lily Braun (2 July 1865 - 8 August 1916), born Amalie von Kretschmann, was a German feminist writer. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... LGBT movements is a collective term for a number of social movements that share related goals of social acceptance of homosexuality and/or gender variance. ... Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 â€“ September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Dr Otto Gross (1877 - 1920) A maverick early disciple of Freud who rebelled against his teacher, became an anarchist and joined the utopian Ascona community. ... Herbert Marcuse (July 19, 1898 â€“ July 29, 1979) was a German-born philosopher, sociologist and a member of the Frankfurt School. ... Wilhelm Reich (March 24, 1897 â€“ November 3, 1957) was an Austrian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. ...

1940s - 1960s

From the late 1940s to the 1960s, the bohemian free-love tradition of Greenwich Village was carried on by the beat generation, although differing with their predecessors by being an apparently male-dominated movement. The Beats also produced the first appearance of male homosexual champions of free love in the U.S., with writers such as Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. Like some of those before, the beats challenged a range of social conventions, and they found inspiration in such aspects of black culture as jazz music. The study of sexology continued to gain prominence throughout the era, with the works of researchers like Alfred Kinsey lending a new legitimacy to challenges to traditional values regarding sex and marriage. Beats redirects here. ... Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 â€“ April 5, 1997) was an American poet. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914) â€” August 2, 1997; pronounced ), more commonly known as William S. Burroughs, was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Sexology is the systematic study of human sexuality. ... Alfred Charles Kinsey (June 23, 1894 â€“ August 25, 1956), was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology who in 1947 founded the Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University, now called the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. ...

The sexual revolution and beyond

Free love became a prominent phrase used by and about the new social movements and counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, typified by the Summer of Love in 1967 and the slogan "make love not war". Unrestrained sexuality became a new norm in some of these youth movements, leading certain feminists to critique the 60s/70s "free love" as a way for men to pressure women into sex; women who said "no" could be characterized as prudish and uptight. For the Macy Gray song, see Sexual Revolution (song). ... The term new social movements (NSM) refers to a plethora of social movements that have come up in various western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i. ... // The counterculture of the 1960s was a social revolution between the period of 1960 and 1973[1] that began in the United States as a reaction against the conservative social norms of the 1950s, the political conservatism (and perceived social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US government... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... The Summer of Love was the summer of 1967, particularly in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where thousands of young people loosely and freely united for a new social experience. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... It has been suggested that Convention (norm) be merged into this article or section. ...

In the 1980s, concerns over AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases tempered the promiscuity of the 1970s, but many of the sexual reforms advocated by earlier free-love movements had become mainstream: legalisation of adultery, birth control, and homosexuality; freedom in choosing love, sex, or both; and women's rights in general. Chastity, virginity, and subservience in marriage had much less power as social ideals for women. The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... For other uses, see AIDS (disambiguation). ... Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently illegal. ... This article is about the act of adultery. ... For other uses, see Birth control (disambiguation). ... Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... The term womenâ€™s rights typically refers to freedoms inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, which may be institutionalized or ignored and/or illegitimately suppressed by law or custom in a particular society. ... Allegory of chastity by Hans Memling. ... Virgin redirects here. ... Matrimony redirects here. ...

Modern descendants of free love could be seen to include the polyamory and queer movements of the 1990s and contemporary sex radicals like Susie Bright, Patrick Califia, and Annie Sprinkle. Though they don't often identify as free lovers, modern movements around the world against arranged marriage and forced marriage in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe share many of the same goals as the free-love movement. Polyamory (from Greek (, literally â€œmultipleâ€) and Latin (literally â€œloveâ€)) is the desire, practice, or acceptance of having more than one loving, intimate relationship at a time with the full knowledge and consent of everyone involved. ... For the novel see Queer (novel), for the song see Queer (song) The word queer has traditionally meant strange or unusual, but its use in reference to LGBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, etc. ... Sex-positive feminism, sometimes known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a movement that was formed in the early 1980s. ... Susie Bright (also known as Susie Sexpert) (born March 25, 1958, Arlington, Virginia) is a writer, speaker, teacher, audio show host, performer, all on the subject of sexuality. ... Patrick Califia (formerly known as Pat Califia; born 1954 near Corpus Christi, Texas) is a writer about sexuality and of erotic fiction, nonfiction essays, and poetry. ... Annie M. Sprinkle (born Ellen F. Steinberg on 23 July 1954 ) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., North America) is a former prostitute, stripper, porn film star, cable television host, porn magazine editor and writer, and sex film producer. ... Marriage Ã -la-mode by William Hogarth: a satire on arranged marriages and prediction of ensuing disaster The purpose of an arranged marriage is to form a new family unit by marriage while respecting the chastity of all people involved. ... Forced marriage is a term used in the Occident to describe traditional arranged marriages in which one or more of the parties (usually the woman) is married without his/her consent or against his/her will. ... Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Statistical regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked red): Northern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current borders: Russia (dark orange), other countries formerly part of the USSR...

Free love in the arts

Films: Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 â€“ May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs is a 1939 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, published for the first time on November 28, 2003. ... For other uses, see Stranger in a Strange Land (disambiguation). ... Spoiler warning: Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. ... Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1973. ... Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 â€“ September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook. ... The Darkover series consists of several novels and short stories set in the fictional world of Darkover as created by science fiction author Marion Zimmer Bradley. ... The above illustration shows Darkover as the planet on the left with its four moons: Liriel, Kyrrdis, Irdriel and Mormallor. ...

Songs: Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 - February 24, 1970) was a successful American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. ... Hobart Henley ( November 23, 1887, Louisville, Kentucky - May 22, 1964, Beverley Hills, California) was an American silent film actor, director and screenwriter. ... Sidney Coe Howard, born June 26, 1891 in Oakland, California, United States – died August 23, 1939 in Tyringham, Massachusetts, was a playwright and screenwriter who became the first person to win both a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award. ... Jaime Humberto Hermosillo (January 22, 1942 -) is a Mexican film director. ... Francisco Demetrio SÃ¡nchez Betancourt (born September 6, 1976 in CumanÃ¡) is a former butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Venezuela, who won the 50m Freestyle at the 1995 FINA Short Course World Championships (25m) in Rio de Janeiro. ... The Harrad Experiment is a 1973 movie about a fictional Harrad College where the students learn about sexuality and experiment with each other. ... Ted Post (31 March 1918-) is an American TV and film director. ... Whitmore in The Asphalt Jungle James Allen Whitmore (born October 1, 1921) is an American film actor. ... Nathalie Kay Tippi Hedren (born January 19, 1930)[1] is an American actress with a career spanning six decades. ...

Free Love Freeway is an ironic song written by Ricky Gervais, who starred as David Brent in the highly acclaimed British comedy The Office. ... Freelove is Depeche Modes thirty-eighth UK single, released on November 5, 2001 in the UK and December 11th in the US. It is the third single for the album Exciter. ... Martin Gore (born Martin Lee Gore, 23 July 1961, Basildon, Essex, England) is an English songwriter, lyricist, singer, guitarist and keyboardist. ... Depeche Mode (pronounced ) are an electronic music band formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. ... Live (IPA pronunciation: , rhymes with five)[2] (also typeset as LIVE) is an American alternative rock band from York, Pennsylvania, comprised of Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals and guitar), Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass guitar) and Chad Gracey (drums). ... Secret Samadhi is LIVEs follow-up to their multi-platinum smash Throwing Copper. ... Hideki Naganuma is a Japanese music composer who primarily does work for video game soundtracks. ... Jet Set Radio Future (often abbreviated JSRF), is a video game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega. ...

Contents

Free love and the women's movement

History of free love movements

Historical precedents

18th and 19th century Europe

19th century United States

Turn of the 20th century

United Kingdom

Australia

United States

Japan

USSR

France

Germany

1940s - 1960s

The sexual revolution and beyond

Free love in the arts

See also

References

Further reading

Contents

Free love and the women's movement GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

History of free love movements

Historical precedents

18th and 19th century Europe

19th century United States

Turn of the 20th century

United Kingdom

Australia

United States

Japan

USSR

France

Germany

1940s - 1960s

The sexual revolution and beyond

Free love in the arts

See also

References

Further reading

Free love and the women's movement