"Concurrent with Mapplethorpe's assimilation and evaluation of prevalent aesthetic issues of the 1970s was his awareness of the dominant social and sexual issues of the decade. The so-called sexual revolution promoted sexual freedom, liberation, and the acceptability of what had previously been considered aberrant behavior. Within the homosexual population, various substrata flourished, and with them an increase in bars, baths, and clubs that supplied a setting for these different interests. The group identified as sadomasochistic represented both a type of sexual behavior and an adopted style or attitude-often associated with leather and bondage. Mapplethorpe was a sympathetic participant in this group. He felt it was worthy, legitimate, previously unexplored, and an almost obligatory subject for him to treat. He approached it not as a voyeur but as an advocate, wanting to instill through his photographs dignity and beauty to a subject that was outside the accepted norms of behavior."