"In the period between 1900 and the First World War, there was a relatively homogenous sexual culture in which respectable people within all classes and age groups in society shared broadly similar, negative attitudes to sexuality. The impression that Victorian sexual mores altered substantially in these decades is misleading. The working classes were becoming more sexually restrained, and while the Bloomsbury group and other rebels contributed to the new openness which was being introduced in novels and magazines, their sexual activity remained limited. In the aftermath of the First World War, historians of masculinity have found that a deeply anti-heroic mood emerged. This further advanced the modification of masculinity set in motion by first-wave feminism, while women’s confidence and independence was increased by war work. Nonetheless, the majority of the population remained sexually conservative throughout the inter-war period. The generation that came of age in this period grew up between 1900 and the war, and a high proportion remained unmarried or married late. For example, only 59 per cent of women aged 20 to 39 were married in 1931. Fertility rates continued to fall until the 1930s, and the inadequate contraception available ensured that those who did marry continued to focus on sexual restraint. There were considerable changes following the First World War but the impact of these on the sexual knowledge and behavior of the majority was not felt until the 1930s. By then books on physical sexuality and contraception were becoming more widely available, and such topics could be mentioned in newspapers and magazines, although censorship remained a major constraint. Contraception was being used by all classes. Sexual ignorance was eroding and a recognizably modern sexual culture began to emerge. Children growing up in this period had a very different experience of the body from those who grew up before the First World War. Following the war, clothing, especially that worn by women, became less heavy and tight, more people took recreational exercise, and exposure to sun and air was encouraged. Relevant progressive causes that blossomed in the 1930s included nudism and free schools movement."