But others, like the ebb and flow of the polar ice caps, the alignment of the planets, and global warming, we know only after centuries of study and observation. They are hard to see. There are social cycles, too. Economists and businesses rely on these cycles to know when to save or borrow, spend or invest, expand or sell-out. These are fairly obvious, and politicians work to flatten them out so that, instead of suffering ups and downs, we can enjoy predictable prosperity.
Sexual attitudes follow a cycle, too.
Before that, during the Victorian era, men were base and women were pristine. The cycle of sexual attitudes, as mapped out by historian Reay Tannahill in her delightful book, Sex in History , has repeated itself in ancient Greece, Rome, Arabia, China and India, and even among many Native American cultures. This cycle of sexism is part of a larger cycle of bigotry and counter-bigotry. In one form or another, it is a pattern that has persisted for thousands of years. During the 1960s, in response to racism black individuals began programs of racial validation.