The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction | |
Formation | 1947 |
---|---|
Founded at | Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
Purpose | Produce and conserve sexual health research and information |
Origins | Work of Alfred Kinsey |
Key people | Justin Garcia (executive director) |
Parent organization | Indiana University (since 2016) |
Website | www |
Formerly called | Institute for Sex Research |
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with Indiana University in 2016, "abolishing the 1947 independent incorporation absolutely and completely." [1] [2]
The institute's mission is "To foster and promote a greater understanding of human sexuality and relationships through research, outreach, education, and historical preservation." Research, graduate training, information services, and the collection and preservation of library, art, and archival materials are main activities carried out by The Kinsey Institute. [3] The institute and Alfred Kinsey himself have been the subject of much controversy. As of July 1,2019, [update] evolutionary biologist and sex researcher Justin Garcia holds the title of executive director of The Kinsey Institute, previously noted as the institute's research director. [4] Garcia is the institute's eighth executive director and their youngest in history at 34 years old when appointed as executive director. [5]
The origins of the Kinsey Institute lie in the scientific research of Indiana University professor and entomologist turned sexuality researcher, Alfred Kinsey. The 1947 creation of the nonprofit institute, originally named the Institute for Sex Research (ISR), was supported by both Indiana University president Herman B Wells and the Rockefeller Foundation, a major financial backer of Kinsey's research. The ISR was established to protect and preserve the confidentiality of Kinsey's data and research materials by creating a secure, permanent repository for them. [6]
Alfred Kinsey was director of the institute from 1947 until his death in 1956. Since then, the institute has had six directors: Paul Gebhard PhD (1956–1982), June Reinisch PhD (1982–1993), Stephanie Sanders PhD (interim director, 1993–1995), John Bancroft MD (1994–2004), Julia Heiman PhD (2004–2014), C. Sue Carter PhD (2014–2019), and Justin Garcia PhD (2019–present). [7] [ needs update ]
Shortly after the ISR's establishment, Kinsey's interview based research was published in the 1948 bestselling [8] book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. [9] Its companion Sexual Behavior in the Human Female was published five years later. [10] These books were popularly known as the "Kinsey Reports". [11] Also, in 1950, research materials being shipped to the ISR were seized by U.S. Customs thereby resulting in the federal court case U.S. v. 31 Photographs. This case continued on after Kinsey's death, until it was finally settled in the institute's favor in 1957. The ruling granted ISR permission to import erotic materials for "research purposes". [12]
Under Paul Gebhard's leadership, the interview based research project continued, resulting in the publication of Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion [13] and Sex Offenders: An Analysis of Types . [14] Other significant publications included JoAnn Brook's Sexual Nomenclature: A Thesaurus [15] and Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg's Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women . [16] Additionally, in response to criticism that Kinsey's original data was biased and not well defined, Gebhard and Johnson wrote The Kinsey Data: Marginal Tabulations of the 1938-1963 Interviews. [17] To honor its founder, the Institute for Sex Research was renamed The Kinsey Institute for Sex Research in 1981. [18]
When June Machover Reinisch became the new director, the name of the institute changed to The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, in order to better reflect its expanded mission. [18] During her first years as director, as part of her contract with the university, the institute was completely renovated and expanded adding a new full floor for the library including temperature and humidity controlled stacks, a scholars' reading room, additional staff offices, and The John Money Visiting Scholars Study, an art gallery and new archives for the art and artifacts collections and additional research offices and laboratory space. Reinisch's directorship also saw the creation of a five-volume monographic series, The Kinsey Institute Series, beginning with the publication of Masculinity/Femininity [19] resulting from institute-sponsored multidisciplinary seminars. Research focused on at-risk sexual behavior and the effects of prenatal exposure to medications on sexual and psychosexual development. Additionally, in 1990 the establishment of the institute's art gallery led to exhibitions featuring its art collection. [20]
From 1984 to 1993, with direction from Indiana University to play an active role in public education, the institute produced "The Kinsey Report", an internationally syndicated newspaper column. [21] Although "The Kinsey Report" is no longer a syndicated column, the Kinsey Institute continues to maintain a sex and sexuality FAQ and statistics page on their website. [22] Additionally, a trade book aimed at popular audiences, The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex: What you must know to be Sexually Literate, was released in 1991. [23]
Following June Reinisch's retirement, Stephanie Sanders held the institute's research and curriculum programs together as the Board reorganized its internal structure amid drastic budget cuts from Indiana University. [24] [25]
From 1995 to 2001, The Kinsey Institute operated a clinic for sexual health and menstrual problems under the directorship of John Bancroft. [26] Research focus was placed upon the psychology of sexual behavior, hormonal effects on sex, and sexuality and well-being. Bancroft and Erick Janssen developed the Dual-control model of sexual arousal, a theory of sexual arousal involving inhibitory and excitation processes. [27] In 1999, the website Kinsey Confidential (originally called Kinsey Institute Sexuality Information Service for Students) was started to provide research-based information regarding sexuality to college-aged adults. It includes sex questions and answers provided by sex researcher and columnist Debby Herbenick in both column-format and podcast-format. [28] During the following year, the institute began regularly rotating exhibitions of artwork and archival materials in addition to offering public tours. [29]
In 2006, the institute began hosting an annual juried art show. [30] In 2007, The Kinsey Institute also hosted the inaugural conference of The University Consortium for Sexuality Research and Training. [30] Also, a question and answer column from the Kinsey Confidential runs in university newspapers including Indiana University's Indiana Daily Student . [31] Ongoing research themes include such topics as condom usage, [32] sex in long-term relationships, [33] and hormones and reproduction. [34]
Sue Carter, a pioneer in examining mechanisms underlying love, bonding and other emotions, was named director in October 2014. [35] Carter said her directorship will emphasize love, sexuality and well-being. "I want to take Kinsey into directions that are unequivocally important" including sexual trauma, the transgender movement, and medical interventions that can affect a person's sexuality and relationships. Reflecting this broadened scope, the institute changed its tagline from "advancing sexual health and knowledge worldwide" to "explore love, sexuality, and well-being" and introduced a new red logo, a circle inscribed with a hexagonal arrangement of circular arcs. [36] The prior logo, a stylised K designed by Enock, Inc., [37] had been phased out around 2010–11. [38] For most of her life, Carter has studied prairie voles. Unlike most other mammals, these voles pair-bond. [39]
On July 1, 2019, evolutionary biologist and sex researcher Justin Garcia became the institute's youngest executive director at 34 years old, replacing director Sue Carter. [4]
In 2023, the Indiana House of Representatives passed legislation banning any state funds from going to the Kinsey Institute. [40] [41]
The Kinsey Institute is considered to have one of the largest collections of library, archival, and art materials pertaining to sex, gender, and reproduction. [42] The current collection began as Alfred Kinsey's private research collection. To ensure its protection, Kinsey sold it to the institute for one dollar. [43] Over the years, neither state nor grant money have been used to build collections. Instead the institute uses funds obtained from book royalties and fees in addition to donations. A sampling of the broad range of items housed at the institute includes scientific and popular books, pulp magazines, publications from both sexual and anti-sexual organizations, data from Kinsey's original interview project, films, photos, erotic objects, and artwork by both professionals and amateurs. Items from all over the world are represented in the collection and some objects even date back to the pre-Columbian era. [44] However, materials do not circulate and must be studied within the reading room which is open to scholars, professionals, university faculty, and students over eighteen who are researching topics pertaining to sexuality, gender, and reproduction. [45] Due to the highly specialized nature of the collection, holdings are described using subject headings created by The Kinsey Institute and organized using a modified version of the Dewey Decimal System. [46]
The Kinsey Institute's art gallery [47] is accessible to the public and hosts a variety of exhibitions each year. Some titles of past exhibitions have included Nature & Nurture: Exploring Human Reproduction from Pregnancy through Early Childhood, Private Eyes: Amateur Art from The Kinsey Institute Collections, Eros in Asia: Erotic Art from Iran to Japan, and Sex and Presidential Politics. [48] Exhibits featuring the institute's collection have also traveled around both the state of Indiana [49] and country. [50] Each year since 2006, The Kinsey Institute's annual juried art show features art work that explores themes of sexuality, gender, romance, reproduction, gender and sexual politics, the human figure, and the relation between illness and sexuality. Due to the large size of the show, it is hosted at Indiana University's SoFa gallery. [51]
The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and Paul Gebhard and published by W.B. Saunders. Kinsey was a zoologist at Indiana University and the founder of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. Jean Brown, Cornelia Christenson, Dorothy Collins, Hedwig Leser, and Eleanor Roehr were all acknowledged as research assistants on the book's title page. Alice Field was a sex researcher, criminologist, and social scientist in New York; as a research associate for Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, she provided assistance with legal questions.
Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term sexology does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism.
Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. He is best known for writing Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), also known as the Kinsey Reports, as well as for the Kinsey scale. Kinsey's research on human sexuality, foundational to the field of sexology, provoked controversy in the 1940s and 1950s, and has continued to provoke controversy decades after his death. His work has influenced social and cultural values in the United States as well as internationally.
The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale, is used in research to describe a person's sexual orientation based on one's experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to a 6, meaning exclusively homosexual. In both the male and female volumes of the Kinsey Reports, an additional grade, listed as "X", indicated "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions" (asexuality). The reports were first published in Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, and others, and were also prominent in the complementary work Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953).
A wet dream, sex dream, or sleep orgasm, is a spontaneous occurrence of sexual arousal during sleep that includes ejaculation and orgasm for a male, and vaginal lubrication and/or orgasm for a female.
Kinsey may refer to:
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and its largest campus with over 40,000 students. Established as the state's seminary in 1820, the name was changed to "Indiana College" in 1829 and to "Indiana University" in 1838.
Paul Henry Gebhard. Jr. was an American anthropologist and sexologist. Born in Rocky Ford, Colorado, he earned a BS and a PhD from Harvard in 1940 and 1947, respectively. Between the years 1946 and 1956, Gebhard was a close colleague to sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. It was acknowledged in Gebhard's New York Times obituary that Kinsey was in fact his mentor and that Gebhard was fascinated when Kinsey first met him and revealed to him that the men's room at Grand Central Terminal in New York City was a frequent site for gay cruising.
Wardell Baxter Pomeroy was an American sexologist. He was a frequent co-author with Alfred C. Kinsey.
Kinsey is a 2004 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bill Condon. It describes the life of Alfred Charles Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of sexology. His 1948 publication, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was one of the first recorded works that tried to scientifically address and investigate sexual behavior in humans. The film also stars Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, John Lithgow, Tim Curry, and Oliver Platt.
"Playing doctor" is a phrase used colloquially in the Western world to refer to children examining each other's genitals. It originates from children using the pretend roles of doctor and patient as a pretext for such an examination. However, whether or not such role-playing is involved, the phrase is used to refer to any similar examination.
Erwin J. Haeberle was a German social scientist and sexologist.
Dr Julia R. Heiman is an American sexologist and psychologist. The sixth Director of The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University, she began on June 1, 2004. Dr. Heiman is also a professor in the Psychology Department at Indiana University with a joint appointment in the Psychiatry Department at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis.
John H. Gagnon was a pioneering sociologist of human sexuality who wrote and edited 15 books and over 100 articles. He collaborated with William Simon to develop the piece he is perhaps best recognized for: "Sexual Conduct: The Social Sources of Human Sexuality" (1973). He was Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he taught and from 1968 to 1998. In that same time frame, he also dedicated himself to advancing the field of sociology through his research.
Debby Herbenick is an American author, research scientist, sex educator, sex advice columnist, children's book author, blogger, television personality, professor, and human sexuality expert in the media. Herbenick is a Provost Professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health (IUSPH) and lead investigator of the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), which Time called "the most comprehensive survey of its kind in nearly two decades."
Leonore Tiefer is an American educator, researcher, therapist, and activist specializing in sexuality, and is a public critic of disease mongering as it applies to sexual life and problems.
Sex Offenders: An Analysis of Types is a 1965 book about sex offenders by the anthropologist Paul Gebhard, the sociologist John Gagnon, the sexologist Wardell Pomeroy, and Cornelia Christenson. It was a publication of the Institute for Sex Research.
June Machover Reinisch is an American psychologist who has helped advance the public's general knowledge of human sexual activity. From 1982 to 1993, she was director of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. Her research at the Institute focused on sexual and psychosexual development. She has published more than 100 scientific papers in such journals as Science, Nature, JAMA, American Psychologist, Hormones and Behavior, MMWR, JPSP, Archives of Internal Medicine, and the British and American Journals or Psychiatry.
This is a timeline of asexual history worldwide. The briefness of this timeline can be attributed to the fact that acceptance of asexuality as a sexual orientation and field of scientific research is still relatively new.
Pan Suiming is a Chinese sexologist and professor at the Renmin University of China who has taught sexology for more than 30 years. He is hailed as "the First Person in Sexology in China".
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