It can make children giggle and parents squirm. But whether we like it or not, "the birds and the bees" is a considerable part of life.\nThe field of sexology is relatively young and many in the field credit its emergence to the work of IU's very own professor Alfred Kinsey.\nOn Aug. 21, to honor the 50th anniversary of his Aug. 26, 1956 death, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction commemorated the life and work of professor Kinsey with a special screening of "Kinsey," the 2004 movie based on Kinsey's research. \nPrior to the screening, one of Kinsey's daughters, Ann Kinsey Call and granddaughter, Wendy Kinsey Corning, spoke to the audience of approximately 100 about his life and his work, as well as the importance of carrying on his legacy, said Jennifer Bass, director of communication at The Kinsey Institute. \nThe fruits of Kinsey's research and writing are still the basis of the work done at The Kinsey Institute, located in Morrison Hall Room 313.\nBass stressed the importance of Kinsey's work, as it occurred in a time when sex was a clandestine topic about which little was known. \n"(Professor Kinsey) brought the topic into focus for people in the 1940s and '50s so that people began to question the norms that they thought were going on in society," she said in a phone interview. \nAs Kinsey saw potentially unhealthy or repressed behaviors affecting his students, he became determined to bring factual sexual information to the public, according to "Science in the Bedroom," by Vern L. Bullough. Kinsey spearheaded studies, interviews and questionnaires to bring to light this deeply personal issue that he found worthy of investigation.\nIn his 1948 publication, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," Kinsey noted the complex nature of sex that necessitated its investigation. \n"As long as sex is dealt with in the current \nconfusion of ignorance and sophistication, denial and indulgence, suppression and stimulation, punishment and exploitation, secrecy and display, it will be associated with a duplicity and indecency that lead neither to intellectual honesty nor human dignity," Kinsey wrote.
FACING CONTROVERSY\nWhile many originally decried his practices as immoral and invasive, Kinsey approached his work from what he considered a purely scientific angle. Upon responding to those who challenged his work, he adamantly put maintained that "we are recorders and reporters of the facts -- not judges of the behavior we describe." \nThe institute that bears Kinsey's name continues to pursue his goals in furthering the study of sexology by promoting accurate interdisciplinary research in the fields of human sexuality, gender and reproduction, according to the Kinsey Institute's Web site. \n"My hope is that we can inform public and private discussions by providing good research that helps provide answers as to why people do what they do," Bass said.
AM I NORMAL?\nOriginally a biologist specializing in the study of gall wasps, Kinsey was astonished by the sexual misinformation he saw in his students. At the time Kinsey was teaching, misconceptions about sex and reproduction were common; in fact, some parents taught their children that babies came from their mothers' navels or that ejaculation resulted in infertility, according to Bullough's book. Among those who have seen the film, "Kinsey," many may recall a particularly memorable scene in which a young couple explains their fear that oral sex will cause them to conceive a child.\nSuch confusion stemmed from the limited information available prior he emergence of sexology. Most sexual education came from parents, friends and "marriage manuals." There were few resources explaining STDs and contraception, and sex was often seen as illicit, unclean and animalistic, as the film demonstrates. \nIn fact, many credit Kinsey's research to helping people break through their walls of sexual frustration and repression. Those who had been confused about gender identity and sexual orientation found a source of support, while others found relief from that nagging question: "Am I normal?"
A TOPIC WORTH UNDERSTANDING\nSince Kinsey's death, the volume of research and accessible information on sex has been both improved and expanded to include medicinal, spiritual, cultural and anthropological components, said Bass. Although it can be deeply personal, society has grown to acknowledge it in public circles. \n"(Even though sex is) complicated by moral, personal and religious issue, that doesn't mean it's not a topic worth understanding," she affirmed.\n"As the populace becomes increasingly informed, people may be better able to comprehend such an integral component of their lives." \nAs professor Kinsey said in the film, "Love is the answer, isn't it? But sex raises a lot of very interesting questions."\n- Arts Editor Michelle Manchir contributed to this story.
