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Kinsey
          The Movie, The Man
          The Sexual Research That Rocked The World
          Lisa S. Lawless, Ph.D., C.E.O.

Alfred Charles Kinsey

Alfred Kinsey was a zoologist turned sexpert who published two major studies- "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" in 1948 and "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" in 1953. To this day they are still considered by some to be the foundation of human sexuality research.

There are those of course that are outraged that a movie about Kinsey has been made, but I wanted to provide a more insightful look into the film for those who wish to see it.

Having studied Kinsey myself, I felt that the historical accuracy of him was well done. I believe that it does encapsulate the true life of Kinsey.

In addition, I feel that this movie is not only entertaining, but it will assist the viewer in better understanding the evolution of our sexual enlightenment in our society and how Kinsey's work impacts our lives to this day.

I think it is shocking to watch it and remember that it was not that long ago that we were rather ignorant when it came to sexual matters. The pioneering efforts of people like Kinsey and Masters & Johnson whose work we base much of our research on today has allowed us to better understand our bodies and sexuality.

Not to say that many people today aren't still misinformed about their sexuality from crazy notions of douching with Coca Cola after sex as a birth control method to the sheer insanity of penis enlargement products that don't work and aren't typically safe.

But to recall when people thought that masturbation was unhealthy or that oral sex on a woman would cause infertility is quite humorous and sad. If it weren't for sexual pioneers like Kinsey, we would probably still think these things.

While they are funny to think about, I say they are sad because I don't think many people really think about the mental anguish people have gone through when it comes to embracing their sexuality and still continue to. I should know, I get hundreds of eMails everyday with stories from individuals and couples pouring out their hearts about the worry, shame, and loss of self esteem and relationships that come from sexual ignorance and repression. It is a rather good reason for a film like this to have been made and I hope to see more like it!

Because Kinsey was originally trained as a zoologist, he made no moral judgments on those that he interviewed and that is why is study was profoundly accurate at the time. Kinsey based his work on interviews with 5,300 white men and 5,940 white women. These interviews serve as the foundation for his published works. Each interview comprised up to 521 questions that touched on anything and everything sexual including bestiality, pedophilia, extramarital sexuality, homosexual tendencies, masturbation, and penis size.

As a result of these interviews, Kinsey promoted a seven-point scale of normal human sexuality, with bisexuality the most "balanced" state. Kinsey said that 37 percent of adult males had had at least one homosexual experience. Critics of Kinsey insist that Kinsey was the originator of the homosexual movement, when in reality he simply brought attention to the truth about it.

The most controversy surrounding his research and his one greatest mistakes in my opinion was when he once incorrectly used data from prisoners, prostitutes, pedophiles, and other sexually promiscuous people to explain the behavior of all Americans. This is one of the main reasons that abstinence supporters are planning to protest the movie.

When his books were first published, many critics immediately ridiculed his methods. Many did not believe the people interviewed were telling the truth or they called his work obscene. What is sad is that many of his extreme critics try to tear down his work by making up a lot of "what ifs" as their arguments against his information. I mean what moron bases a review on presumptions rather than fact. I will tell you who, those who are terrified of their own sexuality.

We seem to be going into a time of sexual repression again with the Christian Right (which is in my onion... is neither) who often advocate fear and shame based attitudes and laws against sexuality. The truth is that we need to learn about our sexuality for so many reasons. To help us prevent disease, improve self esteem, improve relationships, and to understand how our bodies work to name a few.

Kinsey is by no means to be held high by people as the greatest researcher of sexuality as he was human and I believe like all of us had room for improvement. What I will say is that his pioneering efforts should be celebrated and this movie does that well.

Kinsey did have a way about him that allowed people to be relaxed and so perhaps it was not that people were dishonest in their replies, but rather more honest then ever before. Perhaps the truth was disturbing to his critics rather than inaccurate.

The best message that the movie and the man makes is that knowledge is power. Dr. Ruth said of the movie "I think we have to be grateful to Kinsey because 50 years ago, he was willing to talk about a subject matter that was really taboo."

Laura Berman, PhD, LCSW said this of Kinsey "He set the foundation for taking human sexuality out of the realm of morality." Before his work, "the only discussion was what sex should be or is supposed to be, not what actually happened." In a nutshell, Kinsey said there was a wide gap between what people thought was normal and what they actually did in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

So much sexuality research is going on now, she says. "One of the goals that I have that is similar to Kinsey is to demystify elements of sexuality as well as to remove taboos and misunderstandings around sexuality."

Berman is currently working on a national study of women looking at the health and sexual benefits of sexual aids and devices. "We want to get the conversation started that this is not dirty and embarrassing and that 30 percent of women are using these devices," she says. According to her work, women who use such aids report higher levels of sexual function and overall quality of life.

Ultimately, this is the meaning and legacy of Kinsey - the person and the movie. The 'religious right' is probably going to be very upset about Kinsey. They may traipse out a lot of old, unproven rumors about how Kinsey obtained his information regarding childhood sexuality. They will probably claim that Kinsey used information from shady characters, criminals, Nazis, pedophiles, or other unsavory people. The truth of the matter is that, as a scientist, Kinsey was willing to accept written and oral data from anyone willing to reveal that private aspect of their lives.

What Kinsey did was point out that we need to learn about our sexuality from an open state of mind, by using science and not moral judgment which can only cloud the truth about what people really think, feel and experience.

In addition to the new film on Kinsey, his work is also the basis of a new fictionalized novel by T.C. Boyle called "The Inner Circle," a musical that is Broadway-bound, and two television documentaries.

We hope that this movie and other work will inspire people to think about sexuality in terms of it's reality... the beautiful, complex and sometimes challenging part of who we are. We should embrace all that it is just as we should embrace all of who we are, for without all the pieces of the puzzle we will never be fully able to see it for what it is, what it is not and for the beauty that it's positive and negative influence create in us.