Kinsey study examines definition of term ‘sex’

What is sex? While some consider it to be intercourse, the Kinsey Institute at IU has released a survey that contradicts this assumption and exposes the idea that no uniform consensus exists on the word’s definition.

According to the release, the study, conducted in conjunction with the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, delves deeper into a question examined deeply in 1999 — in the midst of the well-known Clinton-Lewinski sex scandal where the definition of sex was an issue.

“There apparently is some confusion in our culture about what people imagine in their minds when someone says they had sex,” said William Yarber, senior researcher at the Kinsey Institute and senior director of the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention.
Research Associate Brandon Hill agrees that the term sex is a vague one, adding, “this study would say that it doesn’t tell you anything about the behavior an individual would be engaging in.”

The intention of the survey, according to Yarber and Hill, was primarily to expose the misconception that there is a widely accepted definition of sex.

Hill said it is extremely important that researchers, particularly health educators and medical personnel, exercise caution when assessing risks and not assume that the student or patient shares their own definition of sex. 

Junior Karen Michelson said the study provides information vital to health education.
“It makes sense that not everyone would have the same definition of the term sex,” Michelson said. “Therefore, it is smart to accommodate all definitions and make sure that health educators teach safe sex not just by their own definition.”

Data for this study was collected in conjunction with IU’s Center for Survey Research by a process called “Random Digit Dialing,” in which people are selected at random for phone surveys.

As for the impact the survey will have on society, it might be too soon to tell.  
“It hasn’t unveiled any major secrets,” Hill said. “It’s just exposing the complexities of human sexuality.”