Kinsey Scale, The

Biologist and sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey created the Kinsey Scale, also known as the 0–6 scale or heterosexuality-homosexuality scale, in 1940. The Kinsey Scale was first published in Kinsey’s coauthored book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and reprinted in the subsequent volume, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). The Kinsey Scale was a visual representation of human sexual behavior, desire, and fantasy on a 7-point spectrum from 0 (completely heterosexual) to 6 (completely homosexual). Since its initial publication, the Kinsey Scale remains a popular tool for individuals to consider their sexual identity without using the words heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual.

Historical Development

Quantitative research using large data sets rose in popularity in the 1920s and 1930s among U.S. social and human scientists, ...

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