Where Would We Be without Kinsey?

Written by Tara Tainton

Wednesday, 27 July 2005 23:00

I wanted to include an impressive list of the achievements and forward progress in the realm of human sexual behavior as prompted by scientist Alfred Kinsey. Of course, his American home is still very much buried in puritanical thinking and controversy over his personal and professional life, and I can't even locate an unbiased an accurate list of his positive effects on our country and culture. Nowhere online can they be easily found. Isn't that a wonderful reflection of our global ability to approach science and research (and even our fellow humans) in a nonjudgmental way?

alfred kinsey doctor dr

So instead, I've included an enlightening list of the sexual myths predominant in the first half of the 20th century that Kinsey's research (interviews with over 18,000 men and women) helped to dispel. Many of these biased, gender-unequal, etc. myths were dished to all as marital advice within the text of The Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique written by Theodoor Hendrik de Velde in 1926. References to this manual are made in the movie Kinsey as the closest information to fact available at the time. Where did de Velde gain his education that so many taught and followed? From his own sex life, a few reports from his patients, and his personal observations of masturbating women of course.

alfred kinsey doctor dr report

Myths Regarding Human Sexual Behavior

Cunnilingus negatively affects a woman's fertility and ability to conceive.
Masturbation practiced by males contributes to a man becoming "sexually dead" in later years.
Heterosexual intercourse is the only "normal" sexual activity.
A man's sexual peak occurs around the age of 40, which proves self-control during his younger years should be no large task.
It is possible for the penis to be "locked" in the vagina.
The vagina can become ruptured by vigorous thrusting of the penis.
The woman-on-top position may cause the male to become more passive and disrupt the natural relationship of the sexes.
Kneeling sexual positions should be avoided because they promote air getting caught in the vagina and causing horrible noises.
Genital stimulation shouldn't take place after sex.
Never develop a patter or frequency of sexual activity that can't be maintained indefinitely.
A man should not hesitate to have intercourse with his wife when she does not desire it.
Women don't masturbate.
There is no difference between the clitoral and vaginal orgasms.
There's only one sexual position.
Masturbation causes many different physical and mental disorders.