The Hidden Chains of Sexual Liberation: Are We Truly Free or Just Performing?

How Modern Sexuality Became a Stage Instead of a Choice

It started with a glass of red wine and an old documentary. My partner and I sat on the couch, watching footage of the 1960s, an era when young people danced in the streets, chanting about “free love” and sexual liberation. Their faces glowed with hope, as if they had just unlocked a secret that would change humanity forever.

Yet, as I watched, something felt off. Their smiles — so carefree, so certain — seemed disconnected from the reality I knew. If their revolution had truly freed us, why did modern intimacy feel so… exhausting? Why did something meant to empower us now feel like another performance, another expectation we were pressured to meet?

We were promised freedom, yet many of us feel more trapped than ever.

Sexual Liberation or Just a Different Kind of Control?

Growing up, I was told that my body was mine, that I had the right to explore, express, and embrace my sexuality however I pleased. And at first, it sounded empowering. The idea that pleasure was no longer a source of shame, that women could take control of their desires just as men had for centuries — who wouldn’t want that?