Sexuality in Beat Generation Literature
When it came to sex, the question is: what didn't the Beats do? Well, have "vanilla," monogamous sex with their married, forever-wives, we guess. In other words, there were no nuclear families anywhere in sight for these dudes.
Polyamory, bisexuality, homosexuality or lesbianism or gayness or queerness, threesomes, foursomes, and moresomes—the van was rockin' and people kept knockin'. But it wasn't all fun and games for these guys. Experimental sexuality was a path to enlightenment for the Beats.
At least, they believed it to be. Sometimes, we're guessing it led to a lot of jealousy and some crazy Jerry Springer situations. What do you think, dear readers? How much is sexual liberation intertwined with other kinds of social liberation in a society?
Chew on This:
In 1953, few adults were likely to sit around, chillin', talking about anal sex between men. Then "Howl" came to town. And people gasped 'round the country. Ginsberg discussed this type of sex explicitly for at least two reasons. The first was to talk, in a symbolic way, about the damaging exploitation of capitalism. But he was also providing insight into his own sex life. Ginsberg not only came out of the closet, he obliterated it. And long before Harvey Milk or Ellen DeGeneres.
In The Dharma Bums, Kerouac uses scenes of sexual experimentation—like orgies and sex with young girls—to confront society's misguided attempts to control people's behaviors. Having sex that isn't sanctioned by society helps free the mind, he thought. So some free lovin' in a convertible on the open road would be like high communion in the church of Kerouac.