Human Sexuality Research of Masters and Johnson
Masters and Johnson were a pioneering team in the field of human sexuality, both in the domains of research and therapy. William Howell Masters, a gynecologist, was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1915. Virginia Eshelman Johnson, a psychologist, was born in Springfield, Montana in 1925. To fully appreciate their contribution, it is necessary to see their work in historic context. In 1948, Alfred C. Kinsey and his co-workers, responding to a request by female students at Indiana University for more information on human sexual behavior, published the book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. They followed this five years later with Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. These books began a revolution in social awareness of and public attention given to human sexuality. At the time, public morality severely restricted open discussion of sexuality as a human characteristic, and specific sexual practices, especially sexual behaviors that did not lead to procreation. Kinsey's books, which among other things reported findings on the frequency of various sexual practices including homosexuality, caused a furor. Some people felt that the study of sexual behavior would undermine the family structure and damage American society. It was in this climate - one of incipient efforts to break through the denial of human sexuality and considerable resistance to these efforts - that Masters and Johnson began their work. Their primary contribution has been to help define sexuality as a healthy human trait and the experience of great pleasure and deep intimacy during sex as socially acceptable goals. As a physician interested in the nature of sexuality and the sexual experience, William Masters wanted to conduct research that would lead to an objective understanding of these topics. In 1957, he hired Virgina Johnson as a research assistant to begin this research issue. Together they developed polygraph-like instruments that were designed to measure human sexual response. Using these tools, Masters and Johnson initiated a project that ultimately included direct laboratory observation and measurement of 700 men and women while they were having intercourse or masturbating. Based on the data collected in this study, they co-authored the book Human Sexual Response in 1966. In this book, they identify and describe four phases in the human sexual response cycle : excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. By this point in time, the generally repressive attitude toward sexuality was beginning to lift and the book found a ready audience.
At the beginning of the 1900s, there was a “sexual revolution” in New York City. During this time, sexual acts and desires were not hidden, but instead they were openl...
In the late 40’s and early 50’s, sex was a topic that was almost never discussed, that most were ignorant to. Things like masturbation and homosexuality were issues many had little to no knowledge about; abstinence was the social “norm”. Sexology was an unconventional topic to speak of or specifically research. Because of the low popularity of the topic, controversial decision to interview, and sexual experiments with volunteers, the Rockefeller Foundation pulled the plug on funding Kinsey’s research. It was gathered that these methods do not cast an accurate depiction of the general population and should no longer be
Alfred Kinsey, as described in the film “Kinsey” by Bill Condon and research articles, was an openness man determined to discover and reveal the truth behind the sexual behaviors of the American population. Moreover, he challenged beliefs regarding human sexuality. Being knowledgeable about sex was viewed as something immoral; a topic only a physician was to talk about simply because they knew body parts. In fact, people had no idea what masturbation meant or what being “normal” during sexual activity was. Even though, Kinsey’s scientific research was conducted within the United States, still his findings became a worldwide source of information. Yet, today many controversies arise as a result of his scientific research.
To provide a summation, I have learned a great deal about sexuality throughout this class and have utilized some of its teachings in order to help clarify my sexuality. While I have strayed away a bit in this essay about sexuality especially on Freud, I have tried incorporate their teachings into constructing my sexuality identity such as Foucault teaching of sexuality and power and Judith Butler’s sexuality and categories. Freud was just absurd however I will take advantage of these teachings utilized in class in order to constitute a more accurate representation of my sexual
All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociologically when I got home for summer vacation, after completing my first year of college. At this time, I received the news that my parents were separating after celebrating 23 years of marriage. Of course this was shocking news to hear, but I knew there was more to the divorce than my parents falling out of love. At this time I began taking an online class called, “Sociology of Human Sexuality”. The readings that were given in this class discussed divorce issues in the United States and every other country. The textbook, Understanding Human Sexuality had provided insight on reasons for divorce; that discussed kids leaving moving out, high divorce rate and even couples getting married too young. While
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
Vern L. Bullough, “Alfred Kinsey and the Kinsey Report: Historical Overview and Lasting Contributions”, The Journal of Sex Research 35 no. 2 (May 1998):129.
In the article “An Anthropological Look at Human Sexuality” the authors, Patrick Gray and Linda Wolfe speak about how societies look at human sexuality. The core concept of anthology is the idea of culture, the systems of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors people acquire as a member of society. The authors give an in depth analysis on how human sexuality is looked at in all different situations.
The medicalization of sex addiction demonstrates the lengths at which medical authority will go to inject another fabricated disease into the blood of society. While alleged sex addictions have existed for many years, they have only recently been accepted as valid excuses for sexual deviancy. Attitudes toward sex addiction in the past offer a stark contrast to how it is viewed today, as the constantly medicalizing society insists on putting everything under the technical microscope. Sex addiction is commonly associated with a person’s inability to control his sexual behavior, implying an abnormally high sex drive and obsession with sex which have negative effects on his personal life (MedicineNet 2007, 1). Rather than breaking down the science behind the disorder, a customary practice in today’s medicalized society, older attitudes towards sex addiction placed it under the same light as alcoholism, where a lack of control and unwillin... ...
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
The behaviors of the Pokot wives and husbands illustrated in the article “Human sexuality in cross-culture Perspective” show the norms of sexuality behaviors that are different from the U.S norms. The Pokot wives believe that their behaviors are right things to be done or are the appropriate sanctions given to a husband who is not able to sexually satisfy his wife. However, the US perceives these behaviors differently. In the US perspective, it is considered to be a deviance that is against the law within the society. It is considers to be domestic abuse which might lead some individuals involved in this behaviors to be given a negative sanctions like sending them to prison.
Summarize the movie, film, or TV series so that someone who is not familiar with the program will have a general understanding of the story line (2 points). The television series ‘Masters of Sex’ is based on Thomas Maier's biography Masters of Sex. Set in the 1950s through the late 1960s, the series tells the story of the real-life pioneers of human sexuality Dr. Bill Masters and Virginia Johnson whose research explored and brought about a sexual revolution. After many years of secretly documenting how the human body response during sex, and coming up with remarkably effective treatments for their patients (which included prostitutes, couples and even gay men n women), Masters and Johnson were suddenly famous with the publication of their first
Sprecher, S. (1989). Premarital sexual standards for different categories of individuals. Journal of Sex Research, 26, 232-248.
One of the earliest proposed definitions of asexuality came from the famed Alfred Kinsey in 1948, who called it “a lack of sexual behavior associated with a lack of sexual response to erotic stimuli” (Houdenhove, “Asexuality” 1). Later re-definitions include “a lack of sexual behavior associated with a lack of sexual desire” in 1977, “a lack of sexual orientation” in 1980, “a lack of sexual behavior” in 1993, and “a lack of sexual desire or excitement” in 2007 (Houdenhove, “Asexuality” 1; Yule 1). It was not until 2016 that researchers recommending using the definition that asexuals had been using to define themselves (which had also undergone some modifications), describing asexuality as “a lack of sexual attraction” (Houdenhove, “Asexuality” 1). It is interesting to note that all of these definitions define asexuality as “a lack of ______”, as it implies that there is something that asexuals are missing and that they are not complete, but the currently used definition at least describes the phenomenon in a way that is satisfactory to almost all who discuss asexuality.