Nation: CHANGING MORALITY: THE TWO AMERICAS A TIME-Louis Harris Poll

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The signs of changing morality are clearest when it comes to sex. By no means do a majority endorse a sexual revolution: 76% want pornography outlawed, and 72% believe that erotica robs sexual relations of beauty. Overwhelmingly, 66% to 5%, Americans think that sexual morality is more lax than ever, and they again pinpoint the news media as the principal reason. On the other hand, 16% think that Americans are not really more promiscuous but just talk a lot more about sex. Says Naomi Brock, a South Gate, Calif, housewife: "I suppose it's always been about the same. But it seems more open now, and taken for granted."

Nonetheless, substantial minorities —in some cases even majorities—hold views that reveal significant shifts in traditional attitudes toward sex. Again, it is the young, the bettereducated, the relatively affluent who reflect the most liberal views. One surprising fact is Harris' finding that 64% believe that abortions should not be a matter of law but should be left to the prospective parents and their doctor; even a 60% majority of Roman Catholics agree. Other results:

> 31% disagree with the idea that "the use of four-letter words makes sex dirty" (the figures rise to 42% of the under-30 group, 45% of the college-educated, 41% of those earning $10,000 and over, 46% of professionals),

>30% find nothing wrong with homosexual acts between consenting adults.

> 32% say that it is not immoral to show a nude in a movie,

>48% think that unmarried women have as much right to sexual fulfillment as unmarried men. Women remain more attached to the double standard than men. While 59% of the men interviewed thought that unmarried women should be as free sexually as bachelors, only 38% of the women agreed,

>38% do not consider women who use four-letter words to be immoral

> 54% say they believe that "frankness over sex is helping people to get over their inhibitions,"

In order to test people's response to a concrete situation involving sexual morality, the Harris interviewers put this hypothetical question; "Suppose you had a 20-year-old daughter who came home from college and told you that she had fallen in love with a young man and had sexual relations with him but isn't sure she wants to marry him. What would you do?" Only 2% would take the drastic action of disowning her. A huge majority, 90%, would talk it over with her at length and urge her to discontinue the sexual activity; 61% would "tell her how to protect herself in such a situation again." Still, a sign of how the old morality persists in the midst of change was the finding that 36% would insist that the girl marry the young man —if he was of good character.

Then the interviewers repeated the question, switching it to cover a 20-yearold son who is in love and sleeping with a girl. The responses were nearly identical, which indicates that most American parents are now willing to concede girls as much sexual freedom as boys. "The impact of the pill has been decisive indeed," Harris notes. He adds: "There is little doubt that America has come a long way toward both recognizing sexual practices in something less than forbidden terms and in acknowledging the growing liberality of sex behavior, especially among the young,"