Traditionally the legitimate arena for sex and love, marriage has undergone dramatic changes in its function during the last generation. Birth control and the Women's Movement have jointly altered the dominant perspective on the respective roles of men and women within relationships. Marriage has received detailed, and sometimes harshly critical analysis. The disassociation of sex from old social forms and from its reproductive consequences has weakened the prohibitions against sex outside of marriage: The taboo against fornication has been essentially obliterated throughout much of Western society; in some eyes, the strictures against adultery have lost currency. The substantially wider latitude given to the expression of sexuality may foster adjustments in conventional assumptions linking emotional and sexual intimacy.
The greater freedom accorded sexual choices has led to the recognition that social, sexual and emotional commitments are largely, if not wholly, independent. Even within marriage, the identity of love and sex is not necessary. The analysis and justification of more "open" sexual arrangements has, in fact, led to two distinct descriptions of the relation between love and sex, according to Richard Wasserstrom. Under one view, sex and love are separate. Although sex is likely to be more enjoyable when the partners have affection for one another, it is possible to enjoy sex a great deal with partners whom one does not love. Under the other view, sex and love are seen as closely allied, but the exclusivity of love relationships such as that promoted by the laws and customs governing marriage is seen as unnecessary. Sex and love are closely allied, but one may be able to experience both within a variety of contexts. The adoption of either of these views implies a departure from traditional ideas about the sexual relationships. In particular, newly forming ideas about the link between sex and love s...