Kinsey Report
Groundbreaking sexuality research
The Kinsey Reports are two landmark studies on human sexual behavior published by Alfred Kinsey and colleagues in 1948 (*Sexual Behavior in the Human Male*) and 1953 (*Sexual Behavior in the Human Female*).
Based on thousands of interviews, the reports revealed that behaviors considered deviant—homosexuality, masturbation, premarital sex—were far more common than publicly acknowledged.
The findings scandalized mid-century America while reshaping how sexuality was discussed and studied.
The Kinsey Report showed that human sexuality exists on a spectrum.
- sexualityErotic nature and preferences
- human sexualityStudy of erotic behavior
- sexual behaviorConduct involving physical intimacy
- surveySystematic data collection
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
1948 · behavior · statistics · interviews · survey data · taboo · orgasm · homosexuality · heterosexuality · frequency · masturbation · Indiana · scientific · controversial · groundbreaking · intimacy · desire · scale
Kinsey Reportpurity culture
Ideology emphasizing virginity before marriage
Kinsey Reportcensorship laws
Statutes limiting permitted expression
sodomy laws · Victorian morality · conversion therapy · purity culture · McCarthyism
Kinsey, report, reports, reported, reporting, reporter, reporters, reportage