One of the striking elements of the tsunami of commentary on the Savile affair is the eagerness to assert how different things were in the 1970s, & how much things have improved since.
But in the 1970s people were telling each other how much things were improving as bad old ideas got discredited.
One of the things that changed was the role of Mother. Back in the old days, mothers were responsible for autism (through being too cold or distant), homosexuality (by being over-devoted to her son, or domineering of his father), & schizophrenia through some other maternal style.
And – not surprisingly, in view of the above - teenage menstrual cramps used to be caused by a deep subconscious fear of getting married & having babies
