The Kinsey Report on Human Male Sexuality Analytical Essay

The Kinsey Report on Human Male Sexuality
A concise, critical analysis of "The Sexual Behaviors in the Human Male," Alfred Kinsey's 1948 study of human male sexuality.
# 119524 | 938 words | 8 sources | MLA | 2010 | US
Published on May 06, 2010 in Gender and Sexuality (Theories of Gender) , Gender and Sexuality (Homosexuality)


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Description:

"The Sexual Behaviors in the Human Male," Alfred Kinsey's 1948 study of human male sexuality, was considered controversial for its time. This paper discusses the techniques used for gathering data and the validity of the results.

From the Paper:

"Kinsey refused to use random sampling because the nature of the questions would make people feel uncomfortable and provide biased answers. The participants of these surveys had to be willing participants and not everyone who is randomly selected would be willing (Bullough 130). Kinsey represented his findings by using the "mean frequency" not the median or the mode. This can be misleading because the mean of data can be dramatically changed by any outliers in his data (Baber 281).
"Kinsey's research findings related to masturbation are shown to be close to accurate when compared to more recent research. Kinsey's research claims that close to 90 percent of all people from all social classes have masturbated (Quarterly review 40). In a study done by Jerrold S. Greenberg and Francis X. Archambault in the 1970s, it was stated that "It will be shown that these data [on masturbation] do agree in some cases by the benchmark data reported by Kinsey." Greenberg and Archambault did there study by using a random sample of 54 people and concluded that 64 percent of these people had masturbated in their lifetime(Greenberg and Archambault 43). It is common knowledge to most statisticians that the larger the sample size, the more representative the data is. Kinsey's claim that 90 percent of all people have masturbated doesn't seem very "far-fetched" when compared to these new findings."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Baber, Ray E. "Marriage and Family Living."Vol.18, No.3, National Council of Family Relations, Aug., 1956, pp 281-282. JSTOR. Oct. 25,2008 < www.jstor.org.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu >
  • Bullough, Vern L. "Alfred Kinsey and The Kinsey Report: Historical Overview and lasting contributions." The Journal of Sex Research. Vol. 35, No.2, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (Taylor and Francis Group), May, 1988. pp127-131. JSTOR. Oct. 25, 2008 <www.jstor.org.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu>
  • Boslaugh, Sarah. "Homosexuality." Encyclopedia of Global Health. 2008. SAGE Publications. Oct 27, 2008. <http://www.sage-ereference.com.proxy- tu.researchport.umd.edu/globalhealth/Article_n587.html>.
  • Erickson, Julia A. "With Enough Cases, Why do you need Statistics? Revisiting Kinsey's Methodology." The Journal of Sex Research. Vol.35, No.2, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (Taylor and Francis Group), May, 1988. pp 132-140. JSTOR. Oct. 25, 2008 < www.jstor.org.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu >
  • Greenberg, Jerrold S., Archambault, Francis X. "Masturbation, Self-Esteem, and Other Variables." The Journal of Sex Research. Vol.9, No.1, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates(Taylor and Francis Group), Feb., 1973. pp 41-51. JSTOR. Oct 27, 2008 <www.jstor.org.proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu>

Cite this Analytical Essay:

APA Format

The Kinsey Report on Human Male Sexuality (2010, May 06) Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/the-kinsey-report-on-human-male-sexuality-119524/

MLA Format

"The Kinsey Report on Human Male Sexuality" 06 May 2010. Web. 22 May. 2013. <http://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/the-kinsey-report-on-human-male-sexuality-119524/>

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