Louise Perry: Why Casual Sex Backfires on Women

We're living in the era of sexual freedom or at least, that's the story we were told. Have sex whenever you want, with whoever you want, as much as you want. As long as there's consent, you're fine. That became the new moral baseline, and many of us embraced it. We swiped, experimented and called it empowerment.

But privately, the results haven't always matched the promise.

If you're a woman, you may have felt that tension most clearly. Moments that were technically consensual, but left you wondering why something still felt off. Because consent was supposed to solve everything — but consent only answers one question: "Was this allowed legally?"

It doesn't ask: "Was this wise? Was this safe? Was this actually good for me?" So here's the uncomfortable possibility: what if the framework we were given was incomplete? What if freedom, without a deeper ethic, leaves people navigating something far more complicated than we expected?

If there's anyone who stepped into that tension early, it's Louise Perry. She was one of the first feminists to publicly ask whether the sexual revolution had actually made women happier — not from outside the movement, but from within it. Her book, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, didn't just get attention. It became one of the most talked-about texts of the decade, igniting international debate and forcing a serious reconsideration of what "sexual liberation" actually means. Because it said something many women were already thinking — but weren't sure they were allowed to say out loud.

Nothing is off-limits. We talk about orgasms, hookup culture, and the environments we've normalized, as well as the ones we left behind. Some of what she says may shock you. Some of it may convict you. But if we're serious about living well, this conversation is unavoidable.

Chapters 0:00 - Intro 2:13 - The Nine 3:32 - Women Are Conflicted About Sex 15:29 - The Emergence of “Sexual Empowerment” 36:00 - Major Flaws in Today’s Narratives 1:02:54 - How Men & Women Are Different 1:22:09 - Grandma’s Sex Culture Wasn’t All Bad 1:33:19 - How Sexual Repression Be Empowering 1:42:27 - The Social Cost Of A Higher Standard

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Louise Perry Links: Case Against The Sexual Revolution (book): https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Sexual-Revolution/dp/1509549994 X: https://x.com/Louise_m_perry

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