Editing Kinsey scale

{{Short description|Scale for measuring sexual orientation}}
[[File:Kinsey Scale.svg|thumb|Kinsey scale of sexual responses, indicating degrees of [[sexual orientation]]]]
{{Sexual orientation}}

The '''Kinsey scale''', also called the '''Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale''',<ref name="kinsey">{{cite web|url=http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.html|title=Kinsey's Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale|publisher=The [[Kinsey Institute]]|access-date=8 September 2011}}</ref> is used in research to describe a person's [[sexual orientation]] based on one's experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning exclusively [[heterosexual]], to a 6, meaning exclusively [[homosexual]]. In both the male and female volumes of the ''[[Kinsey Reports]]'', an additional grade, listed as "X", indicated "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions" ([[asexuality]]). The reports were first published in ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948)<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kinsey|first1=Alfred C. |last2=Pomeroy|first2=Wardell R.|last3=Martin|first3=Clyde E.|date=June 2003|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Male|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=93|issue=6|pages=894–898|doi=10.2105/ajph.93.6.894|issn=0090-0036|pmc=1447861|pmid=12773346}}</ref> by [[Alfred Kinsey]], [[Wardell Pomeroy]], and others, and were also prominent in the complementary work ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953).<ref name="kinsey" />

==History ==
[[Alfred Kinsey]], the creator of the Kinsey scale, is known as "the father of the [[sexual revolution]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kinseyinstitute.org/about/history/index.php|title=Kinsey History|website=www.kinseyinstitute.org|access-date=2018-04-09}}</ref> The Kinsey scale was created in order to demonstrate that sexuality does not fit into two strict categories: homosexual and heterosexual. Instead, Kinsey believed that [[sexual fluidity|sexuality is fluid]] and subject to change over time.<ref name="Galupo 404–432">{{Cite journal|last=Galupo|first=M. Paz|date=June 2014|title=Sexual Minority Reflections on the Kinsey Scale and the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid: Conceptualization and Measurement|journal=Journal of Bisexuality|volume=14|issue=3–4|pages=404–432|doi=10.1080/15299716.2014.929553|s2cid=144321245}}</ref>

Rather than using sociocultural labels, Kinsey primarily used assessments of behavior in order to rate individuals on the scale.<ref name="Galupo 404–432"/> Kinsey's first rating scale had thirty categories that represented thirty different case studies, but his final scale has only seven categories.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sexarchive.info/GESUND/ARCHIV/SEXOR4.HTM|title=Archive for Sexology|website=www.sexarchive.info|access-date=2018-04-13}}</ref> Over 8,000 interviews were conducted throughout his research.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bullough|first=Vern L.|date=January 2010|title=Alfred Kinsey and the Kinsey report: Historical overview and lasting contributions|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=35|issue=2|pages=127–131|doi=10.1080/00224499809551925}}</ref>

Introducing the scale, Kinsey wrote:

{{cquote|Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. It is a fundamental of taxonomy that nature rarely deals with discrete categories... The living world is a [[Continuum (theory)|continuum]] in each and every one of its aspects.

While emphasizing the continuity of the gradations between exclusively heterosexual and exclusively homosexual histories, it has seemed desirable to develop some sort of classification which could be based on the relative amounts of heterosexual and homosexual experience or response in each history [...] An individual may be assigned a position on this scale, for each period in his life. [...] A seven-point scale comes nearer to showing the many gradations that actually exist.|Kinsey, et al. (1948). pp. 639, 656}}

== Table of the scale ==
The Kinsey scale ranges from 0 for those interviewed who solely had desires for or sexual experiences with the opposite sex, to 6 for those who had exclusively same sex desires or experiences, and 1–5 for those who had varying levels of desire or experiences with both sexes, including "incidental" or "occasional" desire for sexual activity with the same sex. It did not reference whether they "identified" as heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual.<ref name="kinsey"/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Rating
!style="text-align: left"|Description
|- style="background:#ccf;"
| style="text-align: center"|0
|Exclusively heterosexual
|- style="background:#cdf;"
| style="text-align: center"|1
|Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
|- style="background:#ccfffa;"
| style="text-align: center"|2
|Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
|- style="background:#cfc;"
| style="text-align: center"|3
|Equally heterosexual and homosexual
|- style="background:#ccfffa;"
| style="text-align: center"|4
|Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
|- style="background:#cdf;"
| style="text-align: center"|5
|Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
|- style="background:#ccf;"
| style="text-align: center"|6
|Exclusively homosexual
|- style="background:#fdfdfd;"
| style="text-align: center"|X
|No socio-sexual contacts or reactions
|}

Kinsey recognized that the seven categories of the scale could not fully capture every individual's sexuality. He wrote that "it should be recognized that the reality includes individuals of every intermediate type, lying in a continuum between the two extremes and between each and every category on the scale."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHWHCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP3|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Female|last1=Kinsey|first1=Alfred C.|last2=Pomeroy|first2=Wardell B.|last3=Martin|first3=Clyde E.|last4=Gebhard|first4=Paul H.|date=1998-05-22|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780253019240|language=en}}</ref> Although sociologists [[Martin S. Weinberg]] and [[Colin J. Williams]] write that, in principle, people who rank anywhere from 1 to 5 could be considered [[bisexual]],<ref>{{cite book|author1=Weinberg, Martin S. |author2=Williams, Colin J. |author3=Pryor, Douglas W. |title=Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality |url=https://archive.org/details/dualattractionun00wein_268 |url-access=limited |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-19-509841-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dualattractionun00wein_268/page/n51 41]}}</ref> Kinsey disliked the use of the term ''bisexual'' to describe individuals who engage in sexual activity with both males and females, preferring to use ''bisexual'' in its original, biological sense as [[hermaphroditic]]; he stated, "Until it is demonstrated [that] taste in a sexual relation is dependent upon the individual containing within his anatomy both male and female structures, or male and female physiological capacities, it is unfortunate to call such individuals bisexual."<ref name="Stange"/>

Psychologist Jim McKnight writes that while the idea that bisexuality is a form of sexual orientation intermediate between homosexuality and heterosexuality is implicit in the Kinsey scale, that conception has been "severely challenged" since the publication of ''[[Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women]]'' (1978) by Weinberg and the psychologist [[Alan P. Bell]].<ref>McKnight, Jim. ''Straight Science: Homosexuality, Evolution and Adaptation''. Routledge, 1997, p. 33.</ref> Furthermore, although the additional X grade used to mean "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions" is today described as [[asexuality]],<ref name="Stange">{{cite book|author =Mary Zeiss Stange |author2=Carol K. Oyster |author3=Jane E. Sloan |title = Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World|isbn = 978-1-4129-7685-5|publisher=Sage Pubns|year=2011|page=158|access-date=December 17, 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158}}</ref> psychologist [[Justin J. Lehmiller]] stated, "the Kinsey X classification emphasized a lack of sexual behavior, whereas the modern definition of asexuality emphasizes a lack of sexual attraction. As such, the Kinsey Scale may not be sufficient for accurate classification of asexuality."<ref name="Lehmiller">{{cite book|author=Justin J. Lehmiller|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1119164708|page=250|date=2017|access-date=November 29, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250}}</ref>

== Findings ==
=== Kinsey reports ===
{{Main|Kinsey Reports}}

The Kinsey Reports are two published works, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953). These reports discuss the sexual attractions, behaviors, and development of human males and females.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Kinsey 651" /> The data to scale the participants comes from their "psychosexual responses and/or overt experience" in relation to sexual attraction and activity with the same and opposite sexes.<ref name=":1" /> The inclusion of psychosexual responses allows someone with less sexual experience to rank evenly with someone of greater sexual experience.<ref name=":1" /><!--Anyone who has access to the reports please complete the findings for prevalence of Kinsey 0, 1, 2, and 4. The statistics below were taken from http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/resources/ak-data.html -->

* '''Men''': 11.6% of white males aged 20–35 were given a rating of 3 for this period of their lives.<ref name="Kinsey 651">Kinsey, et al. 1948. ''[[Sexual Behavior in the Human Male]]'', Table 147, p. 651</ref>  The study also reported that 10% of American males surveyed were "more or less exclusively homosexual for at least three years between the ages of 16 and 55" (in the 5 to 6 range).<ref name="Kinsey 651" />
* '''Women''': 7% of single females aged 20–35 and 4% of previously married females aged 20–35 were given a rating of 3 for this period of their lives.<ref>Kinsey, et al. 1953. ''[[Sexual Behavior in the Human Female]]'', Table 142, p. 499</ref> 2% to 6% of females, aged 20–35, were given a rating of 5<ref>Kinsey, et al. 1953. ''[[Sexual Behavior in the Human Female]]'', p. 488</ref> and 1% to 3% of unmarried females aged 20–35 were rated as 6.<ref>Kinsey, et al. 1953. ''[[Sexual Behavior in the Human Female]]'', Table 142, p. 499, and p. 474</ref>

The results found in "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" show a higher number of men who lean towards homosexuality than recorded for the women.<ref name=":1" /> Kinsey addresses that the result is contrary to reports that women have more homosexual leanings than men. He posits that such reports are due to the "wishful thinking on the part of such heterosexual males."<ref name=":1" />

== Impact and later developments ==
===General===
{{Main|Scales of sexual orientation}}

The Kinsey scale is credited as one of the first attempts to "acknowledge the diversity and fluidity of human sexual behavior" by illustrating that "sexuality does not fall neatly into the [[Dichotomy|dichotomous]] categories of exclusively heterosexual or exclusively homosexual."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Galupo |first=M. Paz |date=18 June 2014 |title=Sexual Minority Reflections on the Kinsey Scale and the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid: Conceptualization and Measurement |journal=Journal of Bisexuality |volume=14 |issue=3–4 |pages=404–432 |doi=10.1080/15299716.2014.929553 |s2cid=144321245}}</ref> Most studies regarding homosexuality, at the time, were conducted by medical professionals who were sought out by individuals that wanted to change their sexual orientation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sell |first1=Randall L. |last2=Petrulio |first2=Christian |year=1996 |title=Sampling Homosexuals, Bisexuals, Gays, and Lesbians for Public Health Research |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=31–47 |doi=10.1300/J082v30n04_02 |pmid=8738743}}</ref> Alfred Kinsey's publications on human sexuality, which encompasses the Kinsey scale, were widely advertised and had a huge impact on society's modern conceptions of sexuality, post–[[World War II]].<ref>''Sexual Revolution and the Politics of Gay Identity'', by Jeffery Escoffier. p. 167.</ref>

Galupo et al. argued, "Despite the availability of the Kinsey Scale, assessment via [[Sociocultural perspective|sociocultural]] labels (i.e., heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual) is the predominant modality for determining the sexual orientation of research participants."<ref name=":0" /> Many sexologists see the Kinsey scale as relevant to sexual orientation, but not comprehensive enough to cover all [[sexual identity]] aspects. Measures of sexual orientation do not always correlate with individuals' self-identification labels.<ref name=":0" /> As such, sexual identity involves more than one component and may also involve [[biological sex]] and [[gender identity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/sexual-orientation-gender-4329.htm |title=Sexual Orientation & Gender |publisher=Planned Parenthood |access-date=2012-09-06}}</ref> However, Bullough et al. argued that this "wide-scale public discussion of human sexuality" ultimately led Americans to challenge traditional [[heteronormative]] behaviors. His research and findings encouraged [[gay men]] and [[lesbian]]s to [[Coming out|come out]] by debunking much of the stigma revolved around homosexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1023/B:ASEB.0000026627.24993.03| pmid=15129046|title = Sex Will Never be the Same: The Contributions of Alfred C. Kinsey| journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior| volume=33| issue=3| pages=277–286|year = 2004|last1 = Bullough|first1 = Vern L.| s2cid=45214914}}</ref>

Others have further defined the scale. In 1980, Michael Storms proposed a two dimensional chart with an X and Y axis.<ref>{{cite web|title=Evaluation of Models of Sexual Orientation |url=http://www.uwlax.edu/pridecenter/images/101/Eval%20of%20Models%20of%20Sexual%20Orientation.pdf |publisher=University of Wisconsin–La Crosse |access-date=September 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715130712/http://www.uwlax.edu/PrideCenter/images/101/Eval%20of%20Models%20of%20Sexual%20Orientation.pdf |archive-date=July 15, 2012 }}</ref> This scale explicitly takes into account the case of asexuality and the simultaneous expression of hetero-eroticism and homo-eroticism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siue.edu/~cbwilso/203misc4.jpg |title=Graph of Michael Storm Scale versus Kinsey Scale |publisher=Southern Illinois University Edwardsville |access-date=2012-09-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001438/http://www.siue.edu/~cbwilso/203misc4.jpg |archive-date=2013-12-03 }}</ref> Fritz Klein, in his [[Klein Sexual Orientation Grid]], included factors such as how orientation can change throughout a person's lifetime, as well as emotional and social orientation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americaninstituteofbisexuality.org/thekleingrid/|title=The Klein Grid|website=AIB|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-12}}</ref> Kinsey, Storm, and Klein are only three of more than 200 scales to measure and describe sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook of Sexuality-Related Measures|year=2000|publisher=Sage|isbn=978-1-4129-1336-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFPs55zfAKcC|author1=Clive M. Davis |author2=William L. Yarber |author3=Robert Bauserman |author4=George Schreer |author5=Sandra L. Davis }}</ref> For example, there are scales that rate homosexual behaviors from 1 to 14, and measures for gender, masculinity, femininity, and transgender identity.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kinsey's Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale|url=http://www.iub.edu/~kinsey/research/ak-hhscale.html|publisher=The Kinsey Institute|access-date=September 6, 2012|archive-date=August 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817050313/http://www.iub.edu/~kinsey/research/ak-hhscale.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook of Sexuality-Related Measures|year=2000|publisher=Sage|isbn=978-1-4129-1336-2|page=137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFPs55zfAKcC|author1=Clive M. Davis |author2=William L. Yarber |author3=Robert Bauserman |author4=George Schreer |author5=Sandra L. Davis }}</ref>

===Surveys and other studies===
There have been similar studies using a scale from 0 to 10. In such studies, the person would be asked a question such as "If 0 is completely gay and 10 is completely hetero, what is your orientation number?".<ref>Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity (2006) – Janbell L Caroll</ref>

A study published in 2014 aimed to explore "[[sexual minority]] individuals' qualitative responses regarding the ways in which the Kinsey Scale [...] captures (or fail to capture) their sexuality."<ref name=":0" /> Participants completed the [Kinsey] scale and then were asked to respond to the following question: "In what ways did this scale capture or fail to capture your sexuality?"<ref name=":0" /> "A diverse sample of sexual minority participants, including individuals who (1) identify outside the traditional sexual orientation labels (i.e. [[Pansexuality|pansexual]], [[queer]], fluid, [[Asexuality|asexual]]) and (2) identify as [[transgender]], were recruited to complete an online questionnaire."<ref name=":0" /> Participants represented a convenience sample of 285 individuals who self-identified as [[non-heterosexual]].<ref name=":0" /> "Approximately one third of participants self-identified primarily as [[Monosexuality|monosexual]] (31.5%), whereas 65.8% identified as [[nonmonosexual]], and 2.8% identified as asexual. Monosexual participants represented those who self-identified as lesbian (18.5%) or gay (12.2%) or homosexual (0.8%). Nonmonosexual participants included bisexual (24.1%), pansexual (16.8%), queer (19.6%), and fluid (1.4%) participants. A small minority of participants identified as 'other' (3.8%)."<ref name=":0" /> Participants represented all regions of the continental United States.<ref name=":0" /> For this study, the use of "X" was intended to describe asexuality or individuals who identify as nonsexual.<ref name=":0" />

A study published in 2017 questioned how people who do not identify as heterosexual felt about their representation on the Kinsey scale.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Galupo|first1=M. Paz|last2=Mitchell|first2=Renae C.|last3=Davis|first3=Kyle S.|date=2018-05-01|title=Face Validity Ratings of Sexual Orientation Scales by Sexual Minority Adults: Effects of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|language=en|volume=47|issue=4|pages=1241–1250|doi=10.1007/s10508-017-1037-y|pmid=28733825|s2cid=4040021|issn=0004-0002}}</ref> The study takes a group of minority individuals who sexually identify as something other than heterosexual, and has them rate the Kinsey scale according to how well they feel represented by their value.<ref name=":2" /> Each group gave it a rating between 1 and 5. In the results, the group that rated the scale the highest was the group that identified as lesbian or gay with a rating of 4.66.<ref name=":2" /> The bisexual group rated it lower at 3.78, and the pansexual/queer group gave it the lowest rating at 2.68.<ref name=":2" /> Another trend that the study noted was that [[cisgender]] participants on average rated themselves higher on the scale than transgender participants (where the authors use ''transgender'' as a category to describe participants of various trans and non-binary identities).<ref name=":2" /> Namely, the cisgender participants average rating was 4.09 while the transgender participants was 2.78.<ref name=":2" /> The authors also found that trans and non-binary participants rated the Kinsey scale to be a less valid measure of their sexual orientation than the cisgender participants, due to its reliance on binary terminology.<ref name=":2" />

== See also ==
{{Portal|LGBTQ|Human sexuality}}
* [[Asexuality]]
* [[Bi-curious]]
* [[Bisexual erasure]]
* [[Bisexuality]]
* [[Gay sexual practices]]
* [[Gender binary]]
* [[Heterosexual–homosexual continuum]]
* [[Lesbian sexual practices]]
* [[Uranian (sexology)|Uranismus]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/ Kinsey Institute home page]
* [https://kinseyinstitute.org/research/publications/kinsey-scale.php Kinsey's Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale]

{{Sexual identities}}
{{Bisexuality topics}}
{{LGBTQ||orientation=yes|state=collapsed|main=expanded}}

[[Category:1948 introductions]]
[[Category:Bisexuality]]
[[Category:Heterosexuality]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Scales]]
[[Category:Sexology]]
[[Category:Asexuality]]