Pillow talk
Early in 1949 people going about their everyday business in places all over Britain were stopped in the street and asked to talk about sex.
They were quizzed on such matters as prostitution, birth control, divorce and extramarital sex. These subjects were chosen because they were all considered to be ‘wrong’ by the Victorians. It is therefore possible to see how attitudes had changed for the first generation of adults to be brought up in the 20th century.
Some 2,051 people were approached by interviewers in places as far apart as Aberdeen, Devon, Newport and Norwich. They were of all ages and class backgrounds. The survey was carried out by Mass Observation, a ‘social observation’ organisation that had been running since 1937; during wartime it had given the Government valuable information about national morale.
The wife who says ‘Hurry up, I’m tired’ wants her ears boxing
This survey had been inspired in part by the ground-breaking Kinsey Report.by Prof Alfred Kinsey at the University of Indiana had been published in 1948; an equivalent report for women followed five years later. The British study was therefore sometimes called ‘Little Kinsey’, although it had no connection with the USA.
