Back to top
Dutch AIDS memorial quilt, 1990-2014
Donation of the Stichting NAMENproject,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands

By the early 1980s changes promised by the sexual revolution seemed about to materialise. Contraception was increasingly available and women gained more control over decisions affecting their bodies. Young Europeans were having sex earlier and before marriage. Casual sex was more readily accepted by both young men and young women. Homosexuality became more visible. Sexual relationships were seen as uncomplicated. But the advent of AIDS radically changed lives and attitudes to sexuality.