Definition
The Kinsey Scale, originally called the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale, is a continuum-based measure wherein sexual orientation is rated from zero (exclusively heterosexual) to six (exclusively homosexual).
Introduction
Until relatively recently, most Westernized societies viewed sexual orientation in categorical terms. Specifically, the full range of sexual and romantic desires towards a particular sex and/or gender (APA, 2015) was divided into being either heterosexual or not. In the late 1940s, Alfred Kinsey and colleagues introduced the Kinsey Scale, a scale that focused on sexual behavior and attraction rather than sexual identity. From Kinsey’s perspective, sexual identity categories were employed by society to limit and punish those who acted contrary to norms (Drucker, 2010; Galupo et al., 2014). As such, Kinsey believed that behavior, not people, should be...
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Anderson, BB., Cameron, J.J. (2023). Kinsey Scale: Sexual Orientation. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_77-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_77-1
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