Citations:Kinsey

Noun: the Kinsey scale, a numerical scale from 0 to 6, concerning sexual orientations



 * Must one be a Kinsey "0" to qualify as heterosexual, or will a "1" do?
 * Must one be a Kinsey "0" to qualify as heterosexual, or will a "1" do?


 * In other words, a person's sexual fantasies could be exclusively about a person of the same sex (making him or her a Kinsey 6) but that same person's behaviors—for various reasons, including opportunity and the level of concern about societal conformity—could be limited to persons of the other sex (a Kinsey 0).
 * In other words, a person's sexual fantasies could be exclusively about a person of the same sex (making him or her a Kinsey 6) but that same person's behaviors—for various reasons, including opportunity and the level of concern about societal conformity—could be limited to persons of the other sex (a Kinsey 0).


 * Kinsey and his colleagues created controversy by claiming that nearly half (46 percent) of the population was neither exclusively heterosexual (Kinsey 0s) nor exclusively homosexual (Kinsey 6s) but fell somewhere between these extremes (Kinsey, Human Female, 1956). Some subset of these people—centering on Kinsey 3s, and perhaps including 2s and 4s—may properly be themed "bisexual."
 * Kinsey and his colleagues created controversy by claiming that nearly half (46 percent) of the population was neither exclusively heterosexual (Kinsey 0s) nor exclusively homosexual (Kinsey 6s) but fell somewhere between these extremes (Kinsey, Human Female, 1956). Some subset of these people—centering on Kinsey 3s, and perhaps including 2s and 4s—may properly be themed "bisexual."


 * In early research, people were asked to place themselves somewhere along this continuum. Soon researchers started talking about a Kinsey 5 or a Kinsey 2 - a K5 or a K2. However, it wasn't too long before researchers began to notice that people's self-labelling didn't always match their actual behaviour. Some males, for example, might label themselves as exclusively heterosexual, a K0, but actually be having quite regular same-sex sexual encounters.
 * In early research, people were asked to place themselves somewhere along this continuum. Soon researchers started talking about a Kinsey 5 or a Kinsey 2 - a K5 or a K2. However, it wasn't too long before researchers began to notice that people's self-labelling didn't always match their actual behaviour. Some males, for example, might label themselves as exclusively heterosexual, a K0, but actually be having quite regular same-sex sexual encounters.


 * Most of us, if someone told us they were "straight," would instantly imagine them to be a Kinsey 0. Yet the data from this exercise (and from sexuality research in general) tell us that "straight" covers a wider range: usually—in our experience—from 0 to 2.
 * Most of us, if someone told us they were "straight," would instantly imagine them to be a Kinsey 0. Yet the data from this exercise (and from sexuality research in general) tell us that "straight" covers a wider range: usually—in our experience—from 0 to 2.


 * He's a Kinsey 1, I guess. I think he only accepts the blowjobs from men because they are better at it.
 * He's a Kinsey 1, I guess. I think he only accepts the blowjobs from men because they are better at it.


 * It is not clear from the scale who, exactly, ought to fall under the bisexual umbrella. Does the classification include only those who fit into the Kinsey 3 category, a criterion on which bisexuals are a tiny minority? Or does it perhaps include everyone from Kinsey 1 to Kinsey 5, an unrealistically large measurement? Perhaps it includes everyone from Kinsey 2 to Kinsey 4, a somewhat more plausible picture but one that papers over the differences in social privilege experienced by people in the Kinsey 2 category and Kinsey 4 category?
 * It is not clear from the scale who, exactly, ought to fall under the bisexual umbrella. Does the classification include only those who fit into the Kinsey 3 category, a criterion on which bisexuals are a tiny minority? Or does it perhaps include everyone from Kinsey 1 to Kinsey 5, an unrealistically large measurement? Perhaps it includes everyone from Kinsey 2 to Kinsey 4, a somewhat more plausible picture but one that papers over the differences in social privilege experienced by people in the Kinsey 2 category and Kinsey 4 category?


 * The original Kinsey scale was established using sexual behavior as the sole criterion. Complicating factors (e.g., love, sexual attraction, fantasy, and self-identification) have only recently been used to enhance it. It does seem, however, that when all of the factors are considered, an individual's rating may change over time. That is, the individual may be a Kinsey 2 at one time and a Kinsey 5 at another; the rating should not be viewed as being fixed, describing all behaviors, or predicting future behavior.
 * The original Kinsey scale was established using sexual behavior as the sole criterion. Complicating factors (e.g., love, sexual attraction, fantasy, and self-identification) have only recently been used to enhance it. It does seem, however, that when all of the factors are considered, an individual's rating may change over time. That is, the individual may be a Kinsey 2 at one time and a Kinsey 5 at another; the rating should not be viewed as being fixed, describing all behaviors, or predicting future behavior.