Kinsey:
The Movie, The
Man
The
Sexual Research That Rocked The World
Lisa
S. Lawless, Ph.D., C.E.O.
Holistic Wisdom Founder
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Starring
Liam Neeson and Laura Linney
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Director:
Bill
Condon
Rated: R
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For
those of you who don't already know, the new movie Kinsey
is now in theaters portraying the life of sexologist Professor
Alfred 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,"
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Laura
Berman, PhD, LCSW
Clinical
assistant professor of obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry
at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University
in Chicago, and director of the Berman Center in Chicago
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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.
The
Holistic Wisdom Corporation