Alfred Kinsey Criticism
Alfred Kinsey, an American scientist born in 1894, is renowned for pioneering the scientific study of human sexuality through his seminal works, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, collectively known as The Kinsey Report. His research, grounded in over 18,000 interviews with diverse individuals, challenged the era's conventional views on sexuality, revealing a complexity and variation previously unacknowledged. This empirical approach, despite its controversy, is credited with influencing the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. As noted by critics, this work was pivotal in shifting societal attitudes toward human sexuality. Sociology and Social Research commended Kinsey's findings for necessitating an overhaul of existing perspectives on sexuality and marriage. The Kinsey Report was seen by Trilling as breaking down cultural repressions, while Kubie highlighted its utility for psychoanalysts.
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Kinsey's formative years were marked by health challenges but also a burgeoning interest in biology, encouraged by a high school teacher. His academic journey led him from Stevens Institute to Bowdoin College, and eventually to Harvard. As a professor at Indiana University, Kinsey initially focused on entomology before shifting his attention to human sexuality after an assignment to teach a marriage course in 1938 revealed the inadequacies of existing literature. His establishment of the Institute of Sex Research in Bloomington was pivotal, though it drew significant criticism and resulted in lost funding, notably from the Rockefeller Foundation. Despite these challenges, Kinsey persisted in his research until his death in 1956.
Kinsey's studies on human sexuality applied rigorous scientific methodologies to societal norms, unveiling truths about sexual behaviors that were previously misunderstood or taboo. While some critics questioned his methods and conclusions, as seen in Loeb's critique of his "Victorian" interpretations, Kinsey's work remains influential. Kardiner valued it as a study in social trends, though he criticized its reliance on behaviorism. Meanwhile, Folsom recognized it as a much-needed statistical probe into human sexuality, affecting fields like ethics and religion. Kinsey's legacy endures in the ongoing discourse around sexual behavior and cultural norms.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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Sociology and Social Research
(summary)
In the following review of Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, the critic commends Kinsey's research and findings, and declares the work necessary for overhauling the nation's previous works on sexuality and marriage.
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The Kinsey Report
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1948, Trilling identifies Kinsey's work as an enlightening tool to break down cultural repression of humankind's primal and universal sexual consciousness.
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Psychiatric Implications of the Kinsey Report
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in 1948, Kubie enumerates the benefits Kinsey's research has for psychoanalysts treating patients with sexual disorders.
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Behaviorism with a Vengeance
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In the following review of Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, Kardiner finds the work invaluable as a study in social trends, but faults several of his conclusions as too reliant on behaviorism.
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Kinsey's Challenge to Ethics and Religion
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In the following essay, Folsom considers Kinsey's work as a long overdue statistical examination of human sexuality and a harbinger of related works in ethics, philosophy, and religion.
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Kinsey's View of Human Behavior
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In the following essay, originally published in 1954, Kuhn challenges Kinsey's conclusions as succumbing to reductionist fallacies.
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A review of "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female"
(summary)
In the following review of Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, Loeb questions Kinsey's methodology and characterizes the interpretations of his findings as Victorian.
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The Scientist as Sex Crusader: Alfred C. Kinsey and American Culture
(summary)
In the following essay, Morantz presents a historical overview of the cultural shift aided by publication of Kinsey's work and provides detailed biographical analysis of Kinsey's motives for studying human sexuality.
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Sociology and Social Research
(summary)
- Further Reading