Alfred Kinsey | |
|---|---|
 Kinsey inFrankfurt, November 1955 | |
| Born | Alfred Charles Kinsey (1894-06-23)June 23, 1894 Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 25, 1956(1956-08-25) (aged 62) Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Institutions | Indiana University Bloomington |
Alfred Charles Kinsey (/ˈkɪnzi/; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an Americansexologist,biologist, and professor ofentomology andzoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research atIndiana University,[1] now known as theKinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. He is best known for writingSexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) andSexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), also known as theKinsey Reports, as well as for theKinsey scale. Kinsey's research onhuman sexuality, foundational to the field ofsexology, provoked controversy in the 1940s and 1950s, and has continued to provoke controversy decades after his death.[2][3][4] His work has influenced social and cultural values in the United States and United Kingdom as well as internationally.
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Alfred Kinsey was born on June 23, 1894, inHoboken, New Jersey, the son of Sarah Ann (née Charles) and Alfred Seguine Kinsey.[5] He was the eldest of three children. His mother received little formal education; his father was a professor atStevens Institute of Technology.
Kinsey's parents were devout Christians. His father was known as one of the most devout members of the localMethodist church. Most of Kinsey's social interactions were with other members of the church, often as a silent observer, while his parents discussed religion.[6] Kinsey's father imposed strict rules on the household, including mandating Sunday as a day of prayer and little else.
Kinsey's parents were poor for most of his childhood, often unable to afford proper medical care. This may have led to a young Kinsey receiving inadequate treatment for a variety of diseases includingrickets,rheumatic fever, andtyphoid fever. His health records indicate that Kinsey received suboptimal exposure to sunlight (often the cause of rickets, before milk and other foods were fortified withvitamin D) and lived in unsanitary conditions for at least part of his childhood. Rickets led to a curvature of the spine, which resulted in a slight stoop that prevented Kinsey from beingdrafted in 1917 forWorld War I.
At age 10, Kinsey moved with his family toSouth Orange, New Jersey.[5] Also at a young age, he showed great interest in nature and camping. He worked and camped with the localYMCA throughout his early years, and enjoyed these activities to such an extent that he intended to work for the YMCA after completing his education. Kinsey's senior undergraduate thesis for psychology, a dissertation on thegroup dynamics of young boys, echoed this interest. He joined theBoy Scouts when a troop was formed in his community. His parents strongly supported this (and joined as well) because the Boy Scouts was an organization that was based on the principles of Christianity. Kinsey worked his way up through the Scouting ranks to earnEagle Scout in 1913, making him one of the earliest Eagle Scouts.[7] Despite earlier disease having weakened his heart, Kinsey followed an intense sequence of difficult hikes and camping expeditions throughout his early life.
In high school, Kinsey was a quiet but hard-working student. While attendingColumbia High School, he devoted his energy to academic work and playing the piano. At one time, Kinsey had hoped to become a concert pianist, but decided to concentrate on his scientific pursuits instead. Kinsey's ability to spend immense amounts of time deeply focused on study was a trait that would serve him well in college and during his professional career. He seems not to have formed strong social relationships during high school, but earned respect for his academic ability. While there, Kinsey became interested inbiology,botany andzoology. Kinsey was later to claim that his high school biology teacher, Natalie Roeth, was the most important influence on his decision to become a scientist.
Kinsey approached his father with plans to study botany at college. His father demanded that he study engineering atStevens Institute of Technology instead. At Stevens, he primarily took courses related to English and engineering, but was unable to satisfy his interest in biology. Kinsey was not successful there, and decided engineering was not a field at which he could excel. At the end of two years at Stevens, Kinsey gathered the courage to confront his father about his interest in biology and his intent to continue studying atBowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he majored in biology.[8]
In the fall of 1914, Kinsey entered Bowdoin College, where he studiedentomology under Manton Copeland, and was admitted to theZeta Psi fraternity, in whose house he lived for much of his time at college.[9][10] In 1916 Kinsey was elected to thePhi Beta Kappa society and graduatedmagna cum laude, with degrees inbiology andpsychology.[11] Alfred Seguine Kinsey did not attend his son's graduation ceremony at Bowdoin, possibly as another sign of disapproval of his son's choice of career and studies.
Kinsey continued his graduate studies atHarvard University'sBussey Institute, which had one of the most highly regarded biology programs in the United States. It was there that Kinsey studied applied biology underWilliam Morton Wheeler, a scientist who made outstanding contributions toentomology. Under Wheeler, Kinsey worked almost completely autonomously, which suited both men quite well.[citation needed]
Kinsey wrote his doctoral thesis ongall wasps, zealously collecting samples of the species. He traveled widely and took 26 detailed measurements of hundreds of thousands of gall wasps; his methodology was itself an important contribution to entomology as a science. In 1919, Kinsey was awarded anSc.D fromHarvard University, and he accepted an academic post in biology at Indiana University. In 1920 he published several papers under the auspices of theAmerican Museum of Natural History in New York City, introducing the gall wasp to the scientific community and describing itsphylogeny. Of the more than 18 million insects in the museum's collection, some 5 million are gall wasps collected by Kinsey.[12]
Kinsey wrote a widely used high-school textbook,An Introduction to Biology, which was published in October 1926.[13][14] The book endorsedevolution and unified, at the introductory level, the previously separate fields of zoology and botany.
An Introduction to Biology was unlike any other textbook on the market ... Kinsey's textbook was noteworthy for the strong position it took on evolution ... In his textbook Kinsey laid out the basic facts of evolution in a manner-of-fact matter, as though he were discussing the life cycle of the fruit fly. ... The chapter called "Further Evidence of Change" was especially blunt ... Kinsey defined evolution as "the scientific word for change", and while he acknowledged that there are some people who "think they don't believe in evolution", he tried to show his students the folly of such reasoning. To find proof of evolution, students had only to look at things they used daily ... Kinsey ridiculed the man who denounced evolution but owned a new breed of dog or smoked a cigar made from a recently improved variety of tobacco, saying, "When he says he doesn't believe in evolution, I wonder what he means."[15]
Kinsey co-authoredEdible Wild Plants of Eastern North America, published in 1943, withMerritt Lyndon Fernald. The original draft of the book was written in 1919–1920, while Kinsey was still a doctoral student at the Bussey Institute, and Fernald was working at theArnold Arboretum.[16]
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Kinsey is widely regarded as the first major figure in Americansexology; his research helped pave the way for a deeper exploration into sexuality among sexologists and the general public, as well as liberatingfemale sexuality.[17][18] For example, Kinsey's work disputed the notions that women generally are not sexual and that femaleorgasms experiencedvaginally are superior toclitoral orgasms.[17][18] He initially became interested in different forms of sexual practices in 1933, after discussing the topic extensively with a colleague, Robert Kroc. Kinsey had been studying the variations in mating practices amonggall wasps. During this time, he developed a scale measuring sexual orientation, now known as theKinsey scale, which ranges from 0 to 6, where 0 is exclusivelyheterosexual and 6 is exclusivelyhomosexual; a rating of X for "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions" was later added.[citation needed][19]
In 1935, Kinsey delivered a lecture to a faculty discussion group at Indiana University, his first public discussion of the topic, wherein he attacked the "widespread ignorance of sexual structure and physiology" and promoted his view that "delayed marriage" (that is, delayed sexual experience) was psychologically harmful. Kinsey obtained research funding from theRockefeller Foundation, which enabled him to further study human sexual behavior.[20] He publishedSexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948, followed in 1953 bySexual Behavior in the Human Female, both of which reached the top of the bestseller lists and turned Kinsey into a celebrity. These publications later became known as the Kinsey Reports. Articles about him appeared in magazines such asTime,Life,Look, andMcCall's. The Kinsey Reports, which led to a storm of controversy, are regarded by many as a precursor to thesexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.
Kinsey's research went beyond theory and interview to include observation of and participation in sexual activity, sometimes involving co-workers. Kinsey justified this sexual experimentation as being necessary to gain the confidence of his research subjects. He encouraged his staff to do likewise, and to engage in a wide range of sexual activity, to the extent that they felt comfortable; he argued that this would help his interviewers understand the participants' responses.[21][22] Kinsey filmed sexual acts which included co-workers in the attic of his home as part of his research;[23] BiographerJonathan Gathorne-Hardy explains that this was done to ensure the films' secrecy, which would have caused a scandal had it become public knowledge.[24][25] James H. Jones, author ofAlfred C. Kinsey: A Public/Private Life, and British conservative cultural critic and psychiatristAnthony Malcolm Daniels aka Theodore Dalrymple, among others, have speculated that Kinsey was driven by his own sexual needs.[26]
Some of the data published in the twoKinsey Reports books is controversial in the scientific and psychiatric communities, owing to Kinsey's decision to interview volunteers who may not have been representative of the general population.[27] University of Chicago sociology professorEdward Laumann also argued that Kinsey's work was focused on the biology of sex and lacked psychological and clinical information and analysis.[27]
Kinsey collected sexual material from around the world, which brought him to the attention of the U.S. Customs Service when they seized some pornographic films in 1956; he died before this matter was resolved legally.[23] Kinsey wrote about pre-adolescent orgasms using data in tables 30 to 34 of the male volume, which report observations of orgasms in over 300 children aged from two months up to fifteen years.[28] This information was said to have come from adults' childhood memories, or from parent or teacher observation.[29] Kinsey said he also interviewed nine men who had sexual experiences with children and who told him about the children's responses and reactions. Little attention was paid to this part of Kinsey's research at the time, but where Kinsey had gained this information began to be questioned nearly 40 years later.[30] It was later revealed that Kinsey used data from a single pedophile and presented it as being from various sources. Kinsey knew the abuse would continue but had seen the need for participant confidentiality and anonymity as necessary to gain "honest answers on such taboo subjects".[31][32] Years later, the Kinsey Institute said that the data on children in tables 31–34 came from one man's journal (started in 1917) and that the events concerned predated the Kinsey Reports.[32][33]
These allegations have been revived by a political fight inside theIndiana State Senate, but the opposition complained that "These are warmed over Internet memes that keep coming back."[34][35]IndyStar remarked "They cited long-held but largely debunked allegations about the work of Alfred Kinsey...".[36]
Jones wrote that Kinsey's sexual activity influenced his work, that he over-represented prisoners and prostitutes, classified some single people as "married",[37] and that he included a disproportionate number of homosexual men, which may have distorted his studies.[21][22] While he has been criticized for omitting African-Americans from his research,[38] his report on the human male includes numerous references to African-American participants.[39] HistorianVern Bullough writes that the data was later reinterpreted, excluding prisoners and data derived from an exclusively gay sample, and the results indicate that it does not appear to have skewed the data. Kinsey may have over-represented homosexuals, but Bullough considers that this may have been because homosexual behavior was stigmatized and needed to be better understood.[21][22]Paul Gebhard, who was Kinsey's colleague from 1946 to 1956 and who also succeeded Kinsey as Director of the Kinsey Institute following his death,[40] attempted to justify Kinsey's work in the 1970s by removing some of the suspect data where Kinsey allegedly showed a bias towards homosexuality.[40] After Gebhard recalculated the findings in Kinsey's work, he found only slight differences between the original and updated figures.[41]
Bailey et al., in their 2016 review of the sexual orientation literature, stated that Kinsey's survey likely overestimated the frequencies of nonheterosexual attractions and expressions, because his statistics show a higher percentage of the American population as homosexual or bisexual than more modern studies do.[42] However Kinsey biographer Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy states that Kinsey's interview style was quite different from the methodologies of modern studies, something he attributes as a reason for difference of answers.[43] Kinsey focused on in-depth interviews with subjects carried out by himself or highly trained members of his team, and emphasized creating rapport with the interviewee and making them feel comfortable and secure.[44] Modern interviewers tend to be less thoroughly trained and emphasize scientific detachment, which may make respondents less likely to share sensitive personal details.[43]
Thepostmodern take on Kinsey is that sexuality should not be made an object of science.[45] I.e. postmodernism heavily rejects a study of sexuality based upon naturalistic assumptions.[46]
Kinsey was raised as aMethodist, and for a time converted to a much less fundamentalistCongregationalism.[47] During his studies at Harvard he apparently became agnostic or atheist, replacing religious fervor with fervor for science.[48] He marriedClara McMillen in 1921. Their marriage ceremony, like his college graduation, was avoided by Alfred Sr. The couple had four children. Their first son, Donald, born in 1922, died from complications ofjuvenile diabetes in 1927, just before his fifth birthday. Their first daughter, Anne, was born in 1924, followed by Joan in 1925, and then by their second son Bruce in 1928.[citation needed]
Kinsey wasbisexual,[49] and one biographer believes that as a young man he would punish himself for having homoerotic feelings.[50] He and his wife agreed that both could have sex with other people as well as with each other. Kinsey had sex with other men, including his studentClyde Martin.[51]
Kinsey was a friend of theoccult filmmakerKenneth Anger. In 1955, both visited theAbbey of Thelema inCefalù,Sicily, whereAleister Crowley (in which both were interested) had established a commune.[52][53]
Kinsey designed his own house, which was built in theVinegar Hill neighborhood of Bloomington, Indiana, at 1320 First Street. There he practiced his deep interest ingardening.[54]
Kinsey died on August 25, 1956, at the age of 62. The cause of his death was reported to be a heart ailment andpneumonia.[55] TheNew York Times ran the following editorial on August 27, 1956:
The untimely death of Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey takes from the American scene an important and valuable, as well as controversial, figure. Whatever may have been the reaction to his findings—and to the unscrupulous use of some of them—the fact remains that he was first, last, and always a scientist. In the long run, it is probable that the values of his contribution to contemporary thought will lie much less in what he found out than in the method he used and his way of applying it. Any sort of scientific approach to the problems of sex is difficult because the field is so deeply overlaid with such things as moral precept, taboo, individual and group training, and long-established behavior patterns. Some of these may be good in themselves, but they are no help to the scientific and empirical method of getting at the truth. Dr. Kinsey cut through this overlay with detachment and precision. His work was conscientious and comprehensive. Naturally, it will receive a serious setback with his death. Let us earnestly hope that the scientific spirit that inspired it will not be similarly impaired.[56][57]
Kinsey was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery inBloomington, Indiana.[58][59]
The popularity ofSexual Behavior in the Human Male prompted widespread media interest in 1948.Time magazine declared, "Not sinceGone With the Wind had booksellers seen anything like it."[60] The first pop culture references to Kinsey appeared not long after the book's publication; "Martha Raye [sold] a half-million copies of 'Ooh, Dr. Kinsey!'"[61]Cole Porter's song "Too Darn Hot", from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musicalKiss Me, Kate, devoted itsbridge to "the Kinsey report / Every average man you know / Much prefers to play his favorite sport".[62] In 1949Mae West, reminiscing on the days when the word "sex" was rarely uttered, said of Kinsey, "That guy merely makes it easy for me. Now I don't have to draw 'em any blueprints ... We are both in the same business ... Except I saw it first."[63]
The publication ofSexual Behavior in the Human Female prompted even more intensive news coverage. Kinsey appeared on the cover of the August 24, 1953, issue ofTime.[64] The national news magazine featured two articles on the scientist, one focusing on his research, career and new book,[65] the other on his background, personality, and lifestyle.[66] In the magazine's cover portrait, "Flowers, birds, and a bee surround Kinsey; the mirror-of-Venus female symbol decorates his bow tie."[67] The lead article concluded:"'Kinsey ... has done for sex what Columbus did for geography,' declared a pair of enthusiasts ... forgetting that Columbus did not know where he was when he got there. ... Kinsey's work contains much that is valuable, but it must not be mistaken for the last word."[65] A character called "Dr. Kinsey" appeared on the September 15, 1953, television episode ofThe Jack Benny Program as a bow-tied man interviewing a young woman on board acruise ship that has leftHawaii. When "Dr. Kinsey" identifies himself toJack Benny, Benny steps away in embarrassment.[68] The "Dr. Kinsey" character was also written into another sketch in the same episode, commenting on a fantasy Benny is having aboutMarilyn Monroe (a guest on the episode).[69]
The early 2000s saw a renewed interest in Kinsey. In 2003Theatre of NOTE produced the Steve Morgan Haskell play titledFucking Wasps which followed Kinsey's life from childhood until death. Matt Sesow's paintings adorned the theater along with David Bickford playing piano live. Written and directed by Steve Morgan Haskell,Fucking Wasps received many accolades, including a Playwriting of the Year nomination from Backstage West. Premiering in 2003, the musicalDr. Sex focuses on the relationship between Kinsey, his wife, and their shared lover Wally Matthews (based onClyde Martin). The play had a score by Larry Bortniker, a book by Bortniker and Sally Deering, and won sevenJeff Awards. It was produced off-Broadway in 2005. The 2004biographical filmKinsey, written and directed byBill Condon, starsLiam Neeson as the scientist andLaura Linney as his wife. In 2004T. Coraghessan Boyle's novel about Kinsey,The Inner Circle, was published. The following year,PBS produced the documentaryKinsey in cooperation with theKinsey Institute, which allowed access to many of its files.Mr. Sex, aBBC radio play by Steve Coombes concerning Kinsey and his work, won the 2005 Imison Award.[70]
In 2012, Kinsey was inducted into theLegacy Walk in Chicago, an outdoor public display which celebratesLGBT history and people.[71]
In June 2019, Kinsey was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on theNational LGBTQ Wall of Honor within theStonewall National Monument (SNM) inNew York City'sStonewall Inn.[72][73] The SNM is the firstU.S. national monument dedicated toLGBTQ rights andhistory,[74] and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the50th anniversary of theStonewall riots.[75]
'There couldn't have been any research if we turned them in,' he said. 'Of course we knew when we interviewed pedophiles that they would continue the activity, but we didn't do anything about that.' Providing such absolute assurances of anonymity was the only way to guarantee honest answers on such taboo subjects, said Gebhard.
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