AK
Alfred Kinsey
21quotes
Alfred Kinsey: A Pioneering Sexologist
Full Name and Common Aliases
Alfred Charles Kinsey was a renowned American sexologist, biologist, and professor who is best known for his groundbreaking research on human sexuality.
Birth and Death Dates
Kinsey was born on June 23, 1894, in Hoboken, New Jersey. He passed away on August 25, 1956, at the age of 62, due to complications from a heart attack.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Kinsey's nationality was American, and his profession spanned multiple fields: biology, sexology, and academia. He held positions as a professor of entomology and zoology at Indiana University.
Early Life and Background
Kinsey's early life was marked by a strong interest in natural history and science. Growing up in a devout Christian household, he struggled with his own sexuality, which would later influence his research on human behavior. Kinsey earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1916, followed by a master's degree from Harvard University in 1920.
Major Accomplishments
Kinsey's most significant contribution to the field of sexology was his development of the Kinsey Scale, a seven-point scale measuring an individual's sexual orientation. He also conducted extensive research on human sexuality, interviewing over 18,000 men and women about their experiences with sex, relationships, and intimacy.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of Kinsey's most notable works include:
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), two comprehensive volumes detailing human sexuality based on his research.
The establishment of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, which continues to be a leading institution in sexology.
Impact and Legacy
Kinsey's work had a profound impact on society, challenging traditional norms and fostering greater understanding and acceptance of human sexuality. His research helped pave the way for the development of sex education programs, LGBTQ+ rights movements, and feminist ideologies.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Kinsey is widely quoted and remembered for his groundbreaking research, which continues to shape our understanding of human behavior and relationships. His work has been instrumental in promoting empathy, tolerance, and inclusivity, making him a pioneering figure in the field of sexology.
Quotes by Alfred Kinsey
"
The male’s difficulties in his sexual relations after marriage include a lack of facility, of ease, or of suavity in establishing rapport in a sexual situation.
"
Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheeps and goats. Not all things are black nor all things white.
"
We are the recorders and reporters of facts – not the judges of the behaviors we describe.
"
There is a tendency to consider anything in human behavior that is unusual, not well known, or not well understood, as neurotic, psychopathic, immature, perverse, or the expression of some other sort of psychologic disturbance.
"
Art alone develops weaklings, science alone, monsters. Somewhere, somehow, we must combine the two.
"
Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.
"
It is ordinarily said that criminal law is designed to protect property and to protect persons, and if society's only interest in controlling sex behavior were to protect persons, then the criminal codes concerned with assault and battery should provide adequate protection. The fact that there is a body of sex laws which is apart from the laws protecting persons is evidence of their distinct function, namely that of protecting custom.
"
The history of medicine proves that in so far as man seeks to know himself and face his whole nature, he has become free from bewildered fear, despondent shame, or arrant hypocrisy. As long as sex is dealt with in the current confusion of ignorance and sophistication, denial and indulgence, suppression and stimulation, punishment and exploitation, secrecy and display, it will be associated with a duplicity and indecency that lead neither to intellectual honesty nor human dignity.
"
The range of variation in the female far exceeds the range of variation in the male.
"
The heterosexuality or homosexuality of many individuals is not an all-or-none proposition.
Showing 1 to 10 of 21 results