An Analysis Of Alfred Kinsey: A Form Of Relationships

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Open marriages are a form of relationship first truly brought into the public eye by Alfred Kinsey in the 1960s. Since then, the idea of approved extra-martial affairs have continued to be popularized, despite the uneducated critics hollering about it being an insult to the institution of marriage, or a way to justify cheating on one’s significant other. As open marriages start to become a more feasible option for couples looking to explore their sexuality, a common question always seems to come up; this question, in fact, will be the purpose of the following text. Using examples from the 2004 biographical film Kinsey, directed by Bill Condon and produced by Gail Mutrux, while integrating discussion from Tristan Taormino and her book Opening …show more content…

Alfred Kinsey and his wife Clara Macmillan both engage in extramarital affairs, yet remain close physically, emotionally, and sexually. Alternatively, Clyde Martin (whom, it is worth noting, at one time engaged in an affair with both Kinsey and his wife) starts a fight with another man, Paul Gebhard, after finding out Mrs. Martin plans to her husband for Gebhard. How is it that Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey can have a relationship that lasts and both engage in sexual acts with Martin without any complaint from either parties, yet go so wrong for Martin and his wife when involved with Gebhard. Is it Gebhard’s fault? …show more content…

A person’s sociosexuality, or rather, their willingness to take risks and be open in their sexual experiences, is something that, arguably, a person is born with. A concept that was first developed by Alfred Kinsey himself, an individual’s sociosexuality can be determined via a nine-item questionnaire (Penke, 2011, p.2). When looking at the characters of the film through a sociosexual lens, it is revealed that their actions are a result of something much less petty than jealousy. The questionnaire has three main components- Behaviour, Attitude, and Desire (Penke, 2011, p.3). A person who fills out this questionnaire, which seemingly is only looking at sexual practices, actually reveals a person’s level of restriction in terms of sharing partners. Based on what we see in the film, and the jealously expressed by Martin, he would be classified as more “restricted”, meaning despite engaging in open relationships, intrinsically Martin prefers exclusivity in his

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