Author Description

This book is based on studies pursued during fifteen years by Dr. Kinsey and his associates at the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University. The studies were supported throughout the years by Indiana University, and by funds from the Rockefeller Foundation (administered by the Committee for Research on Problems of Sex of the Medical Division of the National Research Council). All incomes from the Institute's publications and other work have been used for the further advancement of the research. The material presented in this book has been derived from personal interviews with nearly 8,000 women; from special research studies in sexual anatomy, physiology, psychology, and endocrinology; and from an exhaustive study of the literature. The book presents data on the incidence and frequency with which women participate in various types of sexual activity. The authors show how such factors as age, decade of birth, and religious adherence are reflected in patterns of sexual behavior. Some measure of the social significance of the various types of sexual behavior is provided. Legal aspects are presented: The authors make comparisons of female and male sexual activities, and investigate the factors which account for the similarities and differences between female and male patterns of behavior. The book analyzes the anatomic and physiologic background of sexual response. The findings indicate that there is need for revision of many current theories concerning the supposed difference in the sexual responses of females and males. Much original information is offered on the significance of psychological factors in sexual response with indications that this is the area in which very real and marked differences do exist between female and male. The authors examine the relation of the so-called sex hormones to sexual response, and they investigate the role played by the nervous system in sexual physiology. It would be difficult to overemphasize the book's ultimate importanc