The Kinsey Report and its effects on sexual morality

  • Thread starter Thread starter edwest2
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
The biggest thing Kinsey did was bring sexual practices into the open. Prior to Kinsey, no one discussed sex openly. Oh yes, young boys at summer camp and teen-age males did, as did enlisted men in the military. As far as what women did-that was a great mystery to men.
No one talked about homosexuality, and lesbianism was completely unknown amongst men.
However, It was a time of great sexual denial. Most adults indulged in some sort of sexual activity, only no one admitted it or talked about it. No one admitted that there was sexual activity amongst teen-agers—even though each high school class had at least 1 pregnancy a year…and, from the 1890’s to around 1920, there was not a town in the US that did not have a flourishing brothel. These brothels functioned very much like a men’s social club. One did not go to them only for “feminine companionship”, one went there for fine dining, good whiskey and male comraderie. These were places where the men were not dominated by their wives. These brothels did not survive WWI and the subsequent womens right to vote legislation. Once women got the right to vote, they insured that the police obliterated the brothels-as well as alcohol.
The greatest change in sexual behavior was the automobile. During the 1920’s automobile ownership became common, and for the first time many young adult couples could have privacy away from their homes. In this period occured the greatest assault on chastity in the history of Western civilization.
The only thing Kinsey did was bring to light what a hypocritical society was doing.
The irony is, that most priest knew, from the confessional, what was going on and could not discuss it. I remember as a young teenager whenever there was a sermon on chastity, there were numerous complaints to the pastor.
What really changed sexual mores in the US was “the pill”. Woman in wholesale numbers consented to being seduced because they were no longer afraid of becoming pregnant…the only differance from the past was that both men and women were no longer afraid to admit what they were doing.
 
I don’t know if he meant to have this happen, but it seems like what happened is that Kinsey’s reports normalized deviant sexual behavior. It’s not like people weren’t having devient sex before, but after Kinsey, no one really treated it as a bad thing. Before Kinsey, yes there was homosexuality in America. But no one, not even gays thought this was a normal desirable behavior. No one thought that visiting a brothel was normal behavior either, nor teen sex. What happened after Kinsey was that everyone said “it’s normal everybody does it” and thus you could no longer condemn the acts. It was the psychologisation of our culture, soon followed by alcohol and drugs. If it was normal, it was fine, if it was too much, the problem was no longer sin but addiction. (not to say you cannot get addictied) with addiction, it’s not something to be ashamed of – you’re sick. So there’s not really a social stigma against doing so. If you’re addicted to porn, you should not be condemned for visiting those sites, but pitied.

I think it was bad for all kinds of things, but I think the worst was the end of the social pressures that actually encouraged good behaviors. Maybe illegality or potential addiction wouldn’t have stopped someone from trying drugs while being shunned by friends would. Or no longer being seen as respectable would. Shame is not a dirty word if it keeps you out of trouble or gets you to a place that helps you get out of trouble.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
The biggest thing Kinsey did was bring sexual practices into the open. Prior to Kinsey, no one discussed sex openly. Oh yes, young boys at summer camp and teen-age males did, as did enlisted men in the military. As far as what women did-that was a great mystery to men.
No one talked about homosexuality, and lesbianism was completely unknown amongst men.
However, It was a time of great sexual denial. Most adults indulged in some sort of sexual activity, only no one admitted it or talked about it. No one admitted that there was sexual activity amongst teen-agers—even though each high school class had at least 1 pregnancy a year…and, from the 1890’s to around 1920, there was not a town in the US that did not have a flourishing brothel. These brothels functioned very much like a men’s social club. One did not go to them only for “feminine companionship”, one went there for fine dining, good whiskey and male comraderie. These were places where the men were not dominated by their wives. These brothels did not survive WWI and the subsequent womens right to vote legislation. Once women got the right to vote, they insured that the police obliterated the brothels-as well as alcohol.
The greatest change in sexual behavior was the automobile. During the 1920’s automobile ownership became common, and for the first time many young adult couples could have privacy away from their homes. In this period occured the greatest assault on chastity in the history of Western civilization.
The only thing Kinsey did was bring to light what a hypocritical society was doing.
The irony is, that most priest knew, from the confessional, what was going on and could not discuss it. I remember as a young teenager whenever there was a sermon on chastity, there were numerous complaints to the pastor.
What really changed sexual mores in the US was “the pill”. Woman in wholesale numbers consented to being seduced because they were no longer afraid of becoming pregnant…the only differance from the past was that both men and women were no longer afraid to admit what they were doing.
Click to expand...
Your observation about the automobile is patently false. It’s a myth. A “roll in the hay” meant sex. Recently, a friend of mine, who lives in a rural area, was walking his dog in the woods that surround it. He spotted a kind of lean-to in the bushes. it consisted of two pieces of plywood of a suitable color that they would be missed by the casual observer. It was open on two sides. So he walked around to the other side at a distance. He clearly observed a couple engaged in sexual activity. He dismantled it and had it thrown out. So, whether we’re talking 1890 or 2012, no automobile was required.

The Pill was carefully marketed by the media. It was approved by the FDA in 1960 but did not see widespread use until 1967, since most people did not live in cities but on farms and in rural areas. In the 1960s, virginity before marriage was regarded as very important. In my Catholic school, the guys were told to treat women with respect and no sex before marriage.

The articles about the pill created a sense of fear about having “unwanted” children.

time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19670407,00.html

I was born in the mid-1950s. The average number of kids in my neighborhood was two. There was no birth control pill. The lie that we cannot control our own sexuality was spread.

Hypocrisy? You mean, no longer afraid to spread and promote scandal? Sex, moral and immoral, was meant to be private. There was an appropriate sense of shame and guilt, which engages the conscience and which leads to good confessions.

No, The Pill was not it. Not by a long shot. Pope Paul VI saw what was coming and dropped the bomb on the Sexual Revolution by not changing Church teaching about artificial birth control. Prior to that, the most widely available “girlie” magazine was Playboy, which started in December 1953, the same year Kinsey published his second report about sexuality and females. His “Playboy Philosophy” was wrapped around a magazine that featured top artists and interviews with people like Fidel Castro. It also featured ads and articles about men’s fashion, various types of ‘fine’ alcohol and other things relating to defining what a “sophisticated” gentleman was, including partially nude and nude women. The other girlie magazines were hard to get and were generally sold behind and under the counter. In my experience, usually by a surly looking man that gave you a look that said “I ain’t sellin’ these ta no kids.” Such magazines were considered morally dirty, and rightly so.
 
In 1968, the full scale attack against the Church was launched. Why? Pope Paul VI had Humanae Vitae published. The reaction:

"In the encyclical, the Holy Father courageously reaffirmed the Church’s constant teaching that, in the words of the encyclical, “each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of new life” (No. 11).

"It caused a firestorm.

“Within 24 hours, in an event unprecedented in the history of the Church, more than 200 dissenting theologians signed a full-page ad in The New York Times in protest. Not only did they declare their disagreement with encyclical’s teaching; they went one step further, far beyond their authority as theologians, and actually encouraged dissent among the lay faithful.”

“… an event unprecedented in the history of the Church…”

So, for the radicals, perverts, and dissidents inside and outside the Church, what to do? And the birth control manufacturers would lose money on their product if too many Catholics listened to the Pope.

Some people spent a lot of time, a lot of money and hired some lawyers. They paid models, hired photographers and rented or bought buildings, and paid a lot of money for printing. The goal? To create sexual addiction among men.

1970s Adult Bookstores selling graphic images of prostitutes engaged in sex acts appeared across the country. What Was Always Meant To Be Private Was Made Public. And when Christians protested, their lawyers were ready. “We have the First Amendment right!!” And we were called “bible thumpers,” “religious nuts,” and a few other things. The myth was spread that such “adult” material was OK was generally spread like like this: “No one is going to tell me what I should read or what I should look at.”

A friend of mine who worked for a large truck shipping business told me the following: “You always knew when the porn came in because the skids were wrapped in thick black plastic so you couldn’t tell what was underneath.”

Adult Bookstores opened across the country, and the addiction cycle began as planned. The worst “magazine” they sold was a directory that had ads from hundreds of swingers; people who could be contacted for no-strings attached sex, and accompanied by nude photos.

But more was required to get men even more tempted. So they opened topless bars and strip clubs so men could see the real thing.

Then abortion was legalized in 1973 for no good reason. It was now OK to remove a “blob of tissue.”

The National Organization for Women was calling men “Male chauvenist pigs.” Why? Because men were treating women like sex objects. Did they protest the strip clubs and topless bars and the producers of pornography? No. Their job was to set up a class war between the victims of men - women - and to make women fear and distrust all men. They did a great job.

In the 1980s, we got No-Fault Divorce. And porn on cable.

NOW were the hypocrites. Today, in movies, on TV and the usual places, women are more exploited and degraded than ever before. Throw in the internet in the late 1990s and they are being degrading in a way never before possible in human history.

Finally, the media helped convince adults they could do whatever they wanted. Remember the TV show Coach? Whenever Coach became upset that they weren’t married and only living together, Christine would say, “We’re adults. We can do whatever we want.”

So, some people teach their children certain words and behaviors are wrong and bad for kids. But for adults? It’s all OK.

Nope. If it was a sin when you were a kid, it’s still a sin when you’re an adult.

Peace,
Ed
 
Reading that article gave me the chills.

I knew a good bit about Kinsey already, but some of the details provided in the Catholic Culture article are just grotesque.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top