A permissive society, also referred to as permissive culture, is used to describe a society in which social norms become increasingly liberal, especially with regard to sexual freedom.[1][2] The term is often used pejoratively by cultural conservatives to criticise what is seen as a breakdown in traditional values, such as greater acceptance of premarital sex, an increase in divorce rates, and acceptance of non-traditional relationships such as cohabitation and homosexuality. A .P. Herbert was considered influential to the notion of permissiveness due to his reform of divorce laws in England.[3] It was particularly used during the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s in Western culture by opponents of the changes in attitudes of the era.[citation needed]