Kinsey's Continuum Of Sexual Orientation
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Kinsey's Continuum Of Sexual Orientation
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The Kinsey Scale, sometimes called the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale, is a sexual orientation scale that presents sexual orientation as a continuum rather than as a dichotomy.
After conducting an exhaustive study of human sexual behavior, biologist Alfred Kinsey realized that human sexual behavior could not be neatly described by the usual dichotomy between heterosexual and homosexual. People engage in a wide variety of sexual behaviors, and sometimes engage in behaviors that deviate from their professed sexual orientation. The Kinsey Scale is an attempt at representing this continuum of behavior.
The Kinsey Scale is listed from zero to six, with each number representing sexual feelings and behaviors as follows:
0 – Exclusively heterosexual
1 – Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2 – Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3 – Equally heterosexual and homosexual
4 – Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5 – Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6 – Exclusively homosexual
Kinsey used an “X” on the scale to denote asexuality .
Kinsey’s scale was highly progressive for its time, and is still often used to quantify sexual behavior. However, a person’s sexual behavior can change over the course of his or her lifetime, which means that his or her Kinsey Scale number is not necessarily a stable number. In addition, the scale does not represent all forms of human sexual expression. Attraction to transgender people , pansexuality, and political sexual choices—such as choosing to sleep exclusively with women for political reasons—cannot be neatly represented on the scale. Furthermore, the scale assumes a clear gender identity, which not all people have. Some people identify as gender-queer, reject the gender binary, or change their gender identity at some point during their lives.
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Kinsey’s scale was highly progressive for its time, and is still often used to quantify sexual behavior. However, a person’s sexual behavior can change over the course of his or her lifetime, which means that his or her Kinsey Scale number is not necessarily a stable number. In addition, the scale does not represent all forms of human sexual expression. Attraction to transgender people, pansexuality, and political sexual choices—such as choosing to sleep exclusively with women for political reasons—cannot be neatly represented on the scale. Furthermore, the scale assumes a clear gender identity, which not all people have. Some people identify as gender-queer, reject the gender binary, or change their gender identity at some point during their lives.
Mine however hasn’t changed 100% 6 on the Kinsey Scale!
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The Kinsey Scale was created by pioneering sex researcher Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues Wardell Pomeroy and Clyde Martin, who called it the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale. It was first introduced in their book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948.
Although it has a number of limitations, the Kinsey Scale was groundbreaking when it was initially published because it was the first scientific scale to suggest that human sexuality and sexual attraction are a continuum and not limited to solely heterosexual or homosexual orientations.
This article discusses the origins of the Kinsey scale, what the scale tells you, and how it works. It also explains the limitations of the scale and its impact on the study of human sexual orientation .
Kinsey, a biologist, and his team studied human sexual behavior, preferences, thoughts, and feelings by interviewing thousands of people, with Kinsey alone conducting 8,000 interviews. 1
Kinsey found that 37% of the men he interviewed had a same-sex experience sometime between adolescence and old age, a rate that jumped to 50% for unmarried men by the age of 35. 2
Meanwhile, of the women he interviewed, 13% had a same-sex experience. 3 This research made it clear that human sexuality couldn't be defined as exclusively heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.
As a result, Kinsey and his colleagues created the Kinsey Scale, which classifies people into eight categories that represent a spectrum of human sexual orientation.
The Kinsey Scale ranges from 0 to 6 and includes an additional category labeled "X." Here are the various ratings and their definitions:
Kinsey and his colleagues used the scale to categorize the individuals they interviewed. Consequently, no official Kinsey "test" exists to go with the scale, even though such tests have been created by others and many can be found online.
Instead, to use the Kinsey Scale, you simply assign yourself to the category that best defines you. However, the Scale has many limitations that may make it impossible to feel if one of the categories accurately sums up your sexual preferences.
In addition, sexuality often changes over time, so even if you assign yourself a category on the Scale now, you may find another category that fits you better in the future.
While the Kinsey Scale changed perceptions of human sexuality, it didn't fully capture the complexity and nuance of sexual behavior and attraction. Based on current understandings of sexuality, the scale is limited by the following listed below.
The entirety of human sexuality isn't encompassed by the Scale's heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual categories. Today, people identify as pansexual , demisexual , and many other orientations that make up a rich tapestry of sexual behavior and attraction.
The Kinsey Scale is structured so that homosexuality and heterosexuality are inversely related. Thus, according to the Scale, the more someone identifies as heterosexual, the less they identify as homosexual and vice versa.
However, studies show opposite-sex and same-sex attraction are not related to one another but are experienced separately. As a result, homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality should be considered independent constructs. 4
The Scale categorizes people based on sexual behavior and attraction , but these are two different things that often don't correspond. 5
For example, a man might be attracted to both men and women but only engage in sexual behavior with women.
Moreover, the Scale doesn't account for a third category: sexual identity, or the label an individual uses for their sexual orientation. For instance, the man in the above example may refer to himself as heterosexual, even though he clearly experiences some homosexual attraction.
Ultimately, his sexual behavior, attraction, and identity don't match up and therefore can't be accurately captured by the categories on the Kinsey Scale.
The Scale also works off the assumption that people identify as either men or women, while completely overlooking the existence of trans, intersex , or other gender identities , further limiting who the Scale can be applied to.
Despite its limitations, the Kinsey Scale has been highly influential. When it initially came out in 1948, homosexuality was outlawed in every state in America due to sodomy laws and the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual included homosexuality as a mental health disorder.
Kinsey introduced an entirely new way of thinking about sexuality and what's "normal" into this environment, paving the way for further research and changing perceptions about homosexuality and the range of human sexual experiences.
Today, there are more than 200 scales that measure sexual orientation. Two that provide a more comprehensive picture of human sexuality, specifically mentioned by the Kinsey Institute , are the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid and the Storms Sexuality Axis.
According to a 2012 study, the Kinsey Scale has found new life online despite the proliferation of more inclusive scales. For those questioning their sexual identity, the versions of the Kinsey Scale that are available across the internet help them better understand and explore their sexuality.
The study concluded that for those attempting to define their sexual identity beyond homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual orientations, the Scale helps expand their ideas of how they can define themselves. The Scaler also enables them to choose different placements on the Scale over time as their understanding of their sexual identity shifts. 7
In addition, the online forums associated with these scales offer an opportunity to discuss their perceptions of their sexuality and find affirmation as they decide which sexual identity fits them best.
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Kinsey AC, Pomeroy WR, Martin CE. Sexual behavior in the human male . Am J Public Health . 2003;93(6):894-898. doi:10.2105/ajph.93.6.894
Zietsch BP, Sidari MJ. The Kinsey scale is ill-suited to most sexuality research because it does not measure a single construct . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2020;117(44):27080-27080. doi:10.1073/pnas.2015820117
Storms MD. Theories of sexual orientation . J Pers Soc Psychol . 1980;38(5):783-792. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.38.5.783
Drucker DJ. Marking sexuality from 0–6: the Kinsey scale in online culture . Sex Cult . 2012;16(3):241-262. doi:10.1007/s12119-011-9122-1
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The Kinsey Scale And Sexual Orientation
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As students go away to school, they’re are thrown into a pit full of diversity, new opportunities, raging hormones, and overall freedom which can sometimes be an opportunity for the sexually repressed or curious to explore their true thoughts without as much pressure from their authority figures to fit a certain sexual role. In college, the lines between gay and straight definitely seem to blur. Here, people often can come to terms with themselves regarding their sexually.
Gay or Straight. That’s it, right? Wrong. One of the fundamental problems we have when perceiving new or unfamiliar concepts is the tendency to look for a black and white or yes-or-no answer. Things aren’t always this way. In fact, many of us would be surprised to know our normal thoughts and desires could be classified as not gay or straight, but instead a percentage of both.
This idea of people not being gay or straight isn’t necessarily a new concept. It has only recently come to a greater light given the higher acceptance of the subject in today’s society. Many of us would indeed be surprised to learn this idea actually came about in the late 1940’s . This theory called The Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale or The Kinsey Scale ; was developed by Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues Wardell Pomeroy and Clyde Martin. (credit: The Kinsey Institute)
So what is The Kinsey Scale exactly? According to The Kinsey Institute , “The Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale”, or “Kinsey Scale,” was developed, “...in order to account for research findings that showed people did not fit into neat and exclusive heterosexual or homosexual categories.” Once I read about this, I was very eager to take some sort of test in order to participate in the study. However, The Kinsey Institute answers the very question of can one take a test to be rated using The Kinsey Scale ?”
Unfortunately, you can’t actually take a test. In fact, the original researchers rated people based on their sexual history says The Kinsey Institute . The Kinsey Scale is actually rated as follows, “The scale ranges from 0, for exclusively heterosexual with no experience with or desire for sexual activity with their same sex, to 6, for exclusively homosexual with no experience with or desire for sexual activity with those of the opposite sex, and 1-5 for varying levels of desire or sexual activity with either sex.” Here's an actual image of the scale to give you a better idea:
Now, on a more anecdotal note, if you split the scale in two, and every score to the left of three was simply called straight and every score to the right of three was simply called gay, this would explain many people’s explanation of their sexual orientation. For example, if you ask a self-proclaimed straight male exactly what his sexual orientation is, chances are his answer will not take into consideration any possibility he has participated or has plans to participate in non-heterosexual acts. In fact, he will most likely generalize his sexual orientation as a zero, or completely heterosexual. And the same thing can often be said for people who identify as gay. Frequently, they will not account for any sexual experiences in the past or any possible desires. One can assume that people's answers are subject to situational biases meaning some people may not yet be comfortable revealing details about their sexual orientation. The reason this anecdotal note is important is that during the original Kinsey Study , the research was not conducted on a test, but instead, it relied on an interview revolved around questioning the interviewee’s sexual history.
Alfred Kinsey is quoted as saying, “Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats…The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects." ( Sexual Behavior In The Human Male, 1948 ) This quote is powerful in its explanation of my original statement which is that often times society tries to classify things in a black or white, yes or no manner. This isn't necessarily because society is looking to believe in fiction, but instead it's often easier to accept an answer this way.
For as Kinsey explains here, there are often times deeper levels to every aspect in life. I personally believe the sooner we accept that every aspect of every life is unique and its own in every way, the sooner we can become a unified and understanding society. Often when we try to classify or fit ourselves and others into these societal, psychological, or even physiological roles, we cause significant trauma. People are meant to grow significantly in their own way from the time they're born to the time they die. If you plant something, assuming it doesn't die, it's going to grow freely. Period. If you plant something with barriers or fencing on and around it, forcing it to grow inside or through barriers, it may still grow, but keep in mind, those barriers can't be separated from the plant and its growth will be altered. The effects will be there.
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