'Our Bodies, Ourselves' and 15 Other Milestones in Women's Sexual Lib

When Our Bodies, Ourselves first hit bookstands in 1973, many women (and men) didn't quite know what to make of it: with chapters on sex, birth control, masturbation—and even a diagram of the clitoris—it was the first time women had talked about sex so candidly. And yet for many, the experience was almost holy. "Mind-blowing," describes Andi Zeisler, the editorial director at Bitch Magazine, of the time she first read the book, at the home of a friend in the 1980s. Life-changing, says Shira Tarrant, a Los Angeles author. And yet, the seminal text—which would go on to sell four million copies—was just one of many peaks in the decades-long battle for women's sexual liberation. On the book's 40th anniversary, a look at the milestones that came before and after.

Read the Story: Our Bodies, Ourselves at 40