The Kinsey Reports (The Blog)
by Matt W.
Taboos are, above all else, a line of defense drawn against the unknown, misunderstood, and different. They create and maintian an undeniable moral code by which society must adhere. Even stronger than this code is the fear of violating these unspoken guidelines, a fear so strong that the taboos themselves become secrets and shadows within society.
Such was sex during the 1950s. Obviously, this very human act had been occuring since the first birth. Sexuality, sensuality, love, passion, and lust remained some of the most prevelant topics in art and literatuire throughout history. However, some of America's first classic pieces of literature (CHARLOTTE TEMPLE and THE SCARLET LETTER) create a portrait of sensuality that invites noth8ing buat pain and suffering. By the 1950s, this thought had rooted itself so deep in the American subconsious that sex was so taboo, so unspeakable, that it had become a complete secret.
And then that tightly guarded closet door was blown open by a professor/scientist who's primary research almost aggressively glorified the genetic history of the gall wasp. This man was Alfred Kinsey, and his daring study in to the sexual habits of Americans not only became one of the greatest selling pieces of non-fiction, but also reshaped the way that the culture addresses those three dangerous letters known as SEX.
A brief history: Kinsey grew up within a strongly religious family, as well as a family that valued it's high education. He natrually entered the sceinces and began studying the biological characteristics of animals (specifically the gall wasp, an winged insect unable to fly - therefore allowing you to trace their geneology step by step by step). While teaching at the Unniversity of Indiana, Kinsey (or ProK as his students called him -- short for Professor Kinsey) became fascinated with the lack of information and study regarding one of the most basic, primary biological functions: sexual reproduction. His first class in the matter (it was a MARRIAGE class, open only to engaged or married underclassmen and any graduate students) quickly became one of the most popular on campus (much in the same way that UCD's Human Sexuality course is often the first one to fill up with undergrads).
His research for this course led to a nation wide study of one of society's largest taboos. Along with a team of well-trained interviewers, Alfred Kinsey conducted what remains the largest study of human sexual behavior in history. Face-to-face, average Americans ("most of which were white, middle-class, college-educated Americans under the age of 35" (Greene) responded to a series of up to 500 questions detailing their sexual experiences from the start of their life.
Kinsey looked at the way their parents interacted, the way their religion viewed sex, the first time they felt sexual desire, the first time they had physical contact, kissed, were seen n aked, etc... etc... etc... These findings were published in the steamy 1948 Best Seller: SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN MALE. It would be followed in 1953 with SEXAUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN FEMALE (which would prove to be less well received than the MALE study). Through the entire experience, Kinsey's team gained an awkward reputation for their promiscuity, wife swapping, sexual exploration, and other early forms of free love conducted all in the name of scientific research. Today, the Kinsey Institute remains the nations leading group for the study of sex, gender, and reproduction.
So...let's look at some of the shocking findings. Most sex occurs alone (at least 90% of men masturbate on a regular basis, 62% of women). At least 10% of men are homosexuals (Kinsey created an infamous six point scale rating sexuality - 0 is complete heterosexual, 6 is complete homosexual...most Americans hit a 2 or 3). Most men cheat on their wives. Most people don't save themselves for marriage. Most men lose their virginity at 16, most women at 19. Most men can only last two minutes (during their first marriage). And most men prefer to do it with the lights on. And, overwhelmingly, it is easier for men and women to achieve orgasm while masturbating than when with a partner.
SHOCKING!
And did we mention that people have sex for fun? Not for procreation! Sex was no longer the sacred bond between a man and woman bound in holy matrimony and intended for the purpose of creating another child to grow up and make this country great. No! People enjoyed sex! People were in an uproar - but they still had to secretly agree with the book (after all, you can't fight science).
But no one had ever talked about any of this. Suddenly men were able to address the fact that YES, maybe they had experimented at boy scout camp or in the locker room. YES, they cheated on their wives. YES, they masturbated. YES, they got a little bit more turned on by some things they shouldn't. The sexual taboo had been broken down, and suddenly healthy conversation was taking place. Sex was pushed in to the forefront of American culture and the national debate regarding it, however turbulant, allowed America to become a little less of a prude.
But there still was a fear of those people who did not fit inside the box. Kinsey's report created a guideline of normality. It was ok to do behave in certain ways (after all, 90% of men do it) but not in other ways (only 10& are Sodomite perverts). Herbert Hoover demanded that Kinsey create a list of possible homosexuals within this government. Religious leaders demanded that Kinsey never publish his female findings.
The female findings of 1953 received a much similar craze of excitement. However, in stead of creating a positive movement and discussion, it created a backlash against Alfred Kinsey. People did not want to hear that their wives, mothers, and daughters masturbated, cheated, fantasized, were not sexually satisfied, and sleeping with one another (Kinsey reported that almost no female had goe without female/female sexaul stimulation). This once again proved that it is still a man's world.
sources:
The Kinsey Institue
Greene, Jack. "What Was the Kinsey Report?" (Jackin Library)
KINSEY. film. 2004. Bill Condon (writer/director)
Taboos are, above all else, a line of defense drawn against the unknown, misunderstood, and different. They create and maintian an undeniable moral code by which society must adhere. Even stronger than this code is the fear of violating these unspoken guidelines, a fear so strong that the taboos themselves become secrets and shadows within society.
Such was sex during the 1950s. Obviously, this very human act had been occuring since the first birth. Sexuality, sensuality, love, passion, and lust remained some of the most prevelant topics in art and literatuire throughout history. However, some of America's first classic pieces of literature (CHARLOTTE TEMPLE and THE SCARLET LETTER) create a portrait of sensuality that invites noth8ing buat pain and suffering. By the 1950s, this thought had rooted itself so deep in the American subconsious that sex was so taboo, so unspeakable, that it had become a complete secret.
And then that tightly guarded closet door was blown open by a professor/scientist who's primary research almost aggressively glorified the genetic history of the gall wasp. This man was Alfred Kinsey, and his daring study in to the sexual habits of Americans not only became one of the greatest selling pieces of non-fiction, but also reshaped the way that the culture addresses those three dangerous letters known as SEX.
A brief history: Kinsey grew up within a strongly religious family, as well as a family that valued it's high education. He natrually entered the sceinces and began studying the biological characteristics of animals (specifically the gall wasp, an winged insect unable to fly - therefore allowing you to trace their geneology step by step by step). While teaching at the Unniversity of Indiana, Kinsey (or ProK as his students called him -- short for Professor Kinsey) became fascinated with the lack of information and study regarding one of the most basic, primary biological functions: sexual reproduction. His first class in the matter (it was a MARRIAGE class, open only to engaged or married underclassmen and any graduate students) quickly became one of the most popular on campus (much in the same way that UCD's Human Sexuality course is often the first one to fill up with undergrads).
His research for this course led to a nation wide study of one of society's largest taboos. Along with a team of well-trained interviewers, Alfred Kinsey conducted what remains the largest study of human sexual behavior in history. Face-to-face, average Americans ("most of which were white, middle-class, college-educated Americans under the age of 35" (Greene) responded to a series of up to 500 questions detailing their sexual experiences from the start of their life.
Kinsey looked at the way their parents interacted, the way their religion viewed sex, the first time they felt sexual desire, the first time they had physical contact, kissed, were seen n aked, etc... etc... etc... These findings were published in the steamy 1948 Best Seller: SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN MALE. It would be followed in 1953 with SEXAUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN FEMALE (which would prove to be less well received than the MALE study). Through the entire experience, Kinsey's team gained an awkward reputation for their promiscuity, wife swapping, sexual exploration, and other early forms of free love conducted all in the name of scientific research. Today, the Kinsey Institute remains the nations leading group for the study of sex, gender, and reproduction.
So...let's look at some of the shocking findings. Most sex occurs alone (at least 90% of men masturbate on a regular basis, 62% of women). At least 10% of men are homosexuals (Kinsey created an infamous six point scale rating sexuality - 0 is complete heterosexual, 6 is complete homosexual...most Americans hit a 2 or 3). Most men cheat on their wives. Most people don't save themselves for marriage. Most men lose their virginity at 16, most women at 19. Most men can only last two minutes (during their first marriage). And most men prefer to do it with the lights on. And, overwhelmingly, it is easier for men and women to achieve orgasm while masturbating than when with a partner.
SHOCKING!
And did we mention that people have sex for fun? Not for procreation! Sex was no longer the sacred bond between a man and woman bound in holy matrimony and intended for the purpose of creating another child to grow up and make this country great. No! People enjoyed sex! People were in an uproar - but they still had to secretly agree with the book (after all, you can't fight science).
But no one had ever talked about any of this. Suddenly men were able to address the fact that YES, maybe they had experimented at boy scout camp or in the locker room. YES, they cheated on their wives. YES, they masturbated. YES, they got a little bit more turned on by some things they shouldn't. The sexual taboo had been broken down, and suddenly healthy conversation was taking place. Sex was pushed in to the forefront of American culture and the national debate regarding it, however turbulant, allowed America to become a little less of a prude.
But there still was a fear of those people who did not fit inside the box. Kinsey's report created a guideline of normality. It was ok to do behave in certain ways (after all, 90% of men do it) but not in other ways (only 10& are Sodomite perverts). Herbert Hoover demanded that Kinsey create a list of possible homosexuals within this government. Religious leaders demanded that Kinsey never publish his female findings.
The female findings of 1953 received a much similar craze of excitement. However, in stead of creating a positive movement and discussion, it created a backlash against Alfred Kinsey. People did not want to hear that their wives, mothers, and daughters masturbated, cheated, fantasized, were not sexually satisfied, and sleeping with one another (Kinsey reported that almost no female had goe without female/female sexaul stimulation). This once again proved that it is still a man's world.
sources:
The Kinsey Institue
Greene, Jack. "What Was the Kinsey Report?" (Jackin Library)
KINSEY. film. 2004. Bill Condon (writer/director)
posted by Leslie Madsen-Brooks at 10/18/2006 09:11:00 AM
3 Comments:
Do you think that the sway in sexual repression from the 1950s to sexual obssession that is acceptable now has anything to do with the rise in single mothers and persons with STDs? Or are other factors to blame?
While I think the Kinsey findings did have, and still do (as in people recently wondering if Oprah is possibly “a little gay”), a huge impact in sexual acceptance in the mainstream, it wasn’t as quick of a change of heart as the blog seems to suggest. The majority of America was shocked to hear these findings being spoken about in public and the taboo of airing out your sexual history still remained. Films and shows still avoided topics and implications of sex after Kinsey’s book came out. The 60s “free love” movement pushed sexual expression even more into the mainstream, but there was still strong opposition, especially from the older generation. It would have been great for people to face reality in the 1950s when Kinsey made his findings public, but it doesn’t seem to have been such a light bulb-going-off kind of moment.
As far as today’s sexual obsession, there are plenty of likely culprits from the typical excuse of the media and entertainment to the demand for absolute personal freedom in doing what we want with our bodies. Also, the double standard of male sexual activity compared to female activity has been continually brought to light in recent memory. Women have certainly embraced their sexual activity, has it become a case of girls doing anything boys can do?
Fantastic blog! The talk of sex is a double edged sword, especially in the 1950s. While I am ecstactic that someone stood up against the norm and broke the taboo on Sex, I can't help but think...would we be as sexually liberated today if it weren't for Kinsey and is that a bad thing? In response to Ben's question, I believe that the increase in STDs, HIV/AIDS, single mothers, etc. has everything to do with the fact that all of a sudden, sex was ok. So, everyone just went crazy. I don't think that "blame" is the write word when referring to how and why today's sexual situations have arised, but I do believe that Kinsey definitely created our sexual revolution.
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