The Nation - News from Aug. 13, 1985

The sexual revolution has cooled, according to a sociologist whose 21-year study indicated more college women are virgins today than in the 1970s. Robert Sherwin, professor of sociology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, studied sexual behavior on that campus over 21 years, interviewing more than 3,000 students. In 1963, 75% of the women interviewed were virgins. By 1978, that had plunged to 38%, nearly equal to that of their male counterparts. But in 1984, the trend began to reverse again, with 43% of the women reporting themselves to be virgins, compared to 28% of the men.