Dispatches from the Sexual Revolution

Underground magazines at the forefront of '60s and '70s sexual liberation.

From the early '60s to the late '70s, a new vanguard of underground magazines documented the sexual revolution, mixing political awareness with giddily liberated kink, and growing consciousness about feminism and LGBT rights. But the idealism of these publications gradually gave way to the commercial demands of pornography, essentially divorcing the sex from the message. This month, Abrams Books releases Sex Press: The Sexual Revolution in the Underground Press, 1963-1979, a massive collection of magazine art tracing that journey, featuring work by influential artists including R. Crumb. We're pleased to present some remarkable images from the book here. Click each image to advance.