MASS OBSERVATION ARCHIVE
Papers from the Mass-Observation Archive at the University of Sussex

Part 12: Topic Collections - Sexual Behaviour, 1939-1950

Mass-Observation was a pioneering social research organisation whose papers provide insights into the cultural and social history of Britain from 1937 to 1965. 
Its strength is that it describes everyday life in the words of ordinary people, with extensive interviews and records of overheard conversations, rather than through polls.  The collection is also a wonderful source of contemporary ephemera.

Parts 4-12 cover the majority of the Topic Collections, which bring together the primary material collected by Mass-Observation's studies from 1937 onwards. By accessing this original data, scholars are able to form their own conclusions about the many topics which were investigated.

Part 12 concerns Sexual Behaviour, 1939-1950. Most of this material derives from M-O's Sex Survey, 1949, including a substantial number of completed and extensive questionnaires on sexual attitudes and behaviour. Additional literature covers birth control, proprietary manufactures, 'lonely hearts' organisations and sexual roles and relationships.