[ Man #1 ] Don't sit so far away.
Anything that creates a distance should be avoided. [ Man #2 ] Okay.
And try not to frown.
I'm sorry. Was I frowning? You have to relax.
How can I be expected to open up if you're not relaxed?
Right. Take a deep breath.
Start again.
[ Inhales ]
As you can see,
this piece of paper has been divided into squares.
There are 287 of them.
Your sex history will fit on this single page in a cryptic code.
Don't forget to mention that there's no written key to the code.
The interview subject will only be candid
if he knows he's speaking in the strictest confidence.
Right. Okay.
So, when were you born?
June 23, 1894.
Are you single or married?
Married.
What is your race?
Don't waste time asking the obvious, Martin.
- Fill it in yourself. - What is your religion?
- Methodist. - How often do you attend church?
Not at all now, but I did regularly until I was 19.
How did you get along with your father and mother when you were growing up?
That's a multiple question.
It allows me to ignore any part I don't want to answer.
- How did you get along with your mother? - Fine.
- We had a close relationship. - And your father?
- How did you get along with your father? - [ Taps Glass ]
[ Man ] And what are we to do?
We turn away from matters of the flesh,
and we turn to things...
of the spirit.
Lust...
has a thousand avenues--
the dance hall, the ice cream parlor,
the tenement saloon,
the Turkish bath.
Like the Hydra,
it grows new heads everywhere.
Even the modern inventions of science
are used to cultivate immorality.
The gas engine
has brought us the automobile joyride
and an even more pernicious menace:
the roadside brothel.
Electricity
has made possible the degrading picture show.
Because of the telephone,
a young woman
can hear the voice of her suitor
on the pillow, right next to her.
[ Baby Coos ]
And let's not forget
the most scandalous invention of all--
the talon-slide fastener,
otherwise known as the zipper,
which provides every man and boy speedy access
to moral oblivion.
[ Man ] Are you currently in good health?
I suppose so. Mm-hmm.
What makes you doubtful?
Every doctor I've ever seen.
Early disease left me with a weakened heart.
Did you have any illnesses that kept you out of school?
I had typhoid fever and rickets.
Also rheumatic fever.
Measles, chicken pox, pneumonia,
and several bouts of influenza.
[ Clears Throat ] Pomeroy, what are you doing?
You're worse than Martin.
Never make judgments about people.
I wasn't.
Your body posture told me
that my list of ailments made you uncomfortable.
Maybe it did. Sorry.
Maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude
is harder than you think.
The best way is to smile, nod your head
while looking me directly in the eye.
Where were we?
Your health as a boy.
It improved greatly when I finally discovered the outdoors.
I never got over the excitement of setting off into the wild,
escaping bed, illness, family.
Alone?
[ Bird Calling ]
No. No. Never alone.
I was surrounded by friends.
Being in the outdoors taught me to rely on my own judgment.
[ Bird Screeches ]
I started to learn about things by grasping them,
tasting them, looking at them.
Biology? Yes.
Biology.
The science of life.
The fields and woods became my new place of worship,
my cathedral.
The only sadness they brought was when I had to leave them.
How old were you when you first tried to pleasure yourself?
[ Sighs ] No. No. No euphemisms.
If you're talking to a college graduate,
use "masturbation," "testicles," "penis,"
"vagina," "vulva," "urination," "defecation."
With the lower-level male, it's "jacking off," "balls,"
"prick," "cunt," "piss," "shit."
[ Sighs ] I don't know, Gebhard.
Maybe your Harvard degree is too ivory tower for our purposes.
I was brought up out west.
I've rubbed shoulders with ranchers, miners my whole life.
- And I thought you were gonna shave that mustache. - I like it.
It's a disguise, a cover-up.
Look at any movie. The villain's always the one with the mustache.
My wife likes it.
You have a chance to make an important contribution to knowledge and science.
Are you telling me you'd give that up for a little facial hair?
Yes, I suppose I am.
Ah.
Well, keep it trimmed.
Let's get back to masturbation.
[ Bird Cooing ] That's a mating call.
[ Cooing Continues ]
So, how'd you wind up at the Stevens Institute, Al?
I thought you wanted to be a biologist.
There are enough scientists in the world, son.
Engineers are what society needs now.
I, um-- I had one of the old fits again.
I tried to stop it.
"Any habit which causes the sex fluid to be discharged
"must be resisted.
"Doctors link it to an assortment of illnesses
"including insanity, blindness, epilepsy,
even death."
What if it happens while you're asleep?
"It is said that the loss of one ounce of seminal fluid
equals the loss of 40 ounces of blood."
I'm killing myself, and I'm not even awake.
What are we supposed to do?
"Keep your bowels open,
"read the Sermon on the Mount,
"sit with your testicles submerged in a bowl of cold water,
[ Exhales ]
think of your mother's pure love."
Why don't we pray?
[ Moaning ]
[ Kinsey ] Come on. Keep firing questions. [ Sobs ]
Extreme rapidity makes it very difficult for a subject to lie.
How young were you the first time you had an orgasm while dreaming?
- How frequently did you have wet dreams? - What did you dream about?
How young were you when you first experienced hugging or kissing?
- Necking? - Petting? - Oral sex?
How young were you when you no longer thought
of your parents' home as your own?
[ Kinsey Sr. ] Al, it's getting late. Let's make the rounds.
Al! Be right down!
Pack of Fatimas.
Okay, son. That'll be 15 cents.
You're a criminal, sir.
I shall report you at once to the local authorities.
Dear Jesus, a goddamn Protestant.
Did you not sell this vile weed to a minor?
What business is that of yours?
It is the Lord's work
to protect the young from temptation.
- Men like you, sir-- - Get the hell out of my store.
- ...men of weak character-- - I've given you proper warning.
...are offensive to the great mass
of right-thinking American citizens--
Shut up! You know what you are, Father? A prig.
- Al. - A skinflint,
a petty tyrant, and a hypocrite to boot!
You think you matter? You don't matter.
There's something wrong with him.
Come on, Al. No.
Maybe your workload is too heavy.
You could drop mechanical drawing.
I've withdrawn from Stevens.
That's impossible.
I'm a senior member of the faculty. Someone would've informed me.
Why? Everyone there hates you.
I'm going to Bowdoin to study biology.
And how do you intend to pay for that?
They've given me a partial scholarship.
And I've socked away most of my scouting money.
You've become a shady person, Al,
a person who keeps secrets.
I had no choice.
What a disappointment you turned out to be.
[ Pomeroy ] How many years of schooling did you complete? Twenty.
After taking my undergraduate degree at Bowdoin,
I received my doctorate from the Bussey Institute at Harvard.
I took a position as assistant professor of zoology
here at Indiana University.
At first I studied the Rhaetulus didieri,
or stag beetle.
Then I discovered a far more fascinating insect.
[ Kinsey ] This is the American Cynipidae, or gall wasp.
Here the wasp deposits an egg
into its host plant.
In this case, an oak tree.
The adult wasp chews its way through the tree
and copulates.
At which point it has the good sense to die.
The animal kingdom includes
at least two million insect species.
So, what makes the gall wasp so fascinating?
I've spent the last three years
crisscrossing the continent, collecting gall wasps.
And what have I learned from my tiny friends, half the size of the household ant?
[ Whispers ] That you need a date.
- Shh! - [ Student Giggles ]
After studying thousands of these pesky creatures under the microscope,
I've yet to find a single gall wasp that's the same as another.
In fact, some are so different
that the offspring of one generation
bear no more resemblance to their parents
than a sheep bears to a goat.
There are those of us who might take comfort in this fact.
Consider the implications.
If every single living thing is different from every other living thing,
then diversity becomes life's one irreducible fact.
Only variations are real.
And to see them,
you simply have to open your eyes.
[ Chattering, Laughing ] [ Bell Tolling ]
Hello. Mind if I sit here?
[ Blowing ]
Why?
Because you're the only unattached male,
and I'm the only unattached female.
That's very sensible.
A man who cooks. How refreshing.
I picked it up when I went out west to collect galls.
I was gone for 11 months, and I don't think I saw more than a dozen people the whole time.
Sounds lonely. Oh. [ Chuckles ]
I enjoyed it.
I've been reading up on gall wasps.
I think I know why they appeal to you. Uh-huh.
They have great big wings, but they can't fly.
They are incapable of getting from this hill to that hill
unless it's close enough to walk,
which means it's possible
to retrace each generation's steps,
hill by hill... by hill by hill,
all the way back to the very beginning.
The gall wasp Garden of Eden.
That's very interesting, Miss Millen.
You've managed to bridge the gap between Darwin and the Book of Genesis in a single phrase.
McMillen. Mmm?
Clara McMillen. Oh!
I'm Prok.
Sorry? It's a nickname my graduate students have given me.
Pro-- fessor K-- insey. Prok.
At first I worried that it suggested an inappropriate level of intimacy
between teacher and student
that could lead to a loss of respect down the line.
I think it just means they like you.
Yes. Eventually I realized that.
Um, tomato bisque and sandwiches?
Please.
** [ Piano ]
[ Gasps ]
** [ Continues ]
[ Clara ] Such an impressive collection.
Thanks. They used to be categorized by period.
But then I rearranged them alphabetically by composer.
I find it's more efficient.
Did you ever think about playing professionally? Because you're very good.
Oh, please. Thank you.
But, uh, "very good" isn't good enough.
I got you a present.
Ah! Here.
[ Laughs ]
Oh.
Oh, how marvelous!
They're the right size. Oh!
[ Laughs ]
At what age did you first have premarital intercourse?
I didn't.
So, at the time of marriage you were a virgin? Yes.
Was your spouse also a virgin?
Yes.
When you got married, did you want to get married?
Very much.
[ Bird Calling ]
[ Kinsey ] I see marriage as a lifetime partnership between equals.
You're a brilliant scholar with a keenly perceptive mind
and a profound respect for nature.
You're a capable hiker and camper and a champion swimmer,
and you're the one girl in a million who's as interested in insects as I am.
To be honest, Prok,
I'm just not sure.
Okay.
I consider myself a free thinker. Yes!
Frankly, I find you a little "churchy."
"Churchy"?
And I've had another proposal.
I'm not saying no. I just need time.
Prok.
I think you're mean!
Mean, heartless, and cold!
Astounding.
If you'll have me.
A gall wasp in amber.
How old is it? About 80 million years or so.
Does Mrs. Kinsey like her wedding present?
It's perfect.
I'm sorry. No, no, I--
I--
How beautiful.
May I?
I'm sorry.
I'm a little nervous.
It's okay. W-We don't have to--
No!
I'm ready.
[ Gasps ] [ Moans ]
[ Cries Out ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Grunting ] [ Sobbing ]
[ Cries Out, Gasps ]
Forgive me, Mac. No, I'm sorry.
It's just-- It hurts too much.
[ Exhales ]
It's-- It's a long drive to my parents'.
We should get some sleep.
Robert's had a 92 in mechanical drawing,
a 95 in mathematics,
and a clean 100...
in shop practice.
Huh. That's splendid, Robert. Congratulations.
I was worried that his teachers were showing him favor
due to my senior position,
but they tell me he is the most gifted student in his class.
Well, living with the best teacher at Stevens doesn't hurt, Father.
Oh, please. [ Laughs ]
At this rate, he'll finish his degree in, uh, three years.
Al, tell us what you've been working on.
Well-- [ Kinsey Sr. ] Don't bother, Al.
She won't be able to follow you.
She's only had a fourth-grade education.
I'm studying gall wasps, Mom.
I've gathered over 100,000 specimens,
which is really only a drop in the bucket.
-But my aim is-- -Ten years of higher education,
and he's still collecting bugs. [ Laughing ]
Prok's also written a biology textbook.
Really?
It's read in colleges across the country.
It's actually a very good read.
So I assume you plan to start a family soon.
No, no, I-- Don't rush it.
Once you have children, you're tied down forever-- your life is over.
[ Clara Giggling ]
What?
I don't know what I expected, exactly,
but he's far worse than I ever imagined.
He is pretty awful, isn't he?
[ Giggles ]
"I once read... Shh! [ Laughing ]
"that the decline of the Roman empire
was the result of too-frequent bathing."
[ Snorts ] Shh! Shh!
Shh.
"Some speculate...
"that rampant adultery
is a possible cause of earthquakes."
I'm sorry you had to witness that.
[ Sobbing Quietly ]
I think I really fell in love with you tonight.
Seeing you here.
Do you think we can make this work, Mac?
I don't know.
I've-- I've heard some people
just don't fit together.
There's no one I'd rather be with.
Physically? I mean--
If only there were some way to know.
That's it, Mac.
Every problem has a solution-- even this one.
We just need to talk to someone, an expert who's studied the matter.
What are you doing?
Why waste any more time?
Your hymen shows an inordinate thickness.
Dr. Kinsey, how large is your penis?
Excuse me?
When erect, how large is it?
How long from the scrotum? Here?
I'm surprised you didn't pass out.
Is there anything we can do?
It's a common-enough problem. Would you like to take care of it today?
Sure. [ Chuckles ]
[ Bell Tolling ] [ Chattering ]
[ Clara Gasps ] [ Kinsey Grunting ]
[ Both Moaning ]
[ Gasping, Panting ]
Oh! God!
God. God. [ Laughing ]
[ Martin ] What was the maximum number of times
you had intercourse with your spouse in any seven-day period?
I'd say... 20 or so.
At least three times a day the first week,
so 21, at a minimum.
Is there tongue kissing during foreplay?
- Yes. - Yes.
- Hand on breast? - Yes.
- Mouth? - Hand on female genitalia?
- Hand on penis? - Yes.
Mouth on female genitalia?
- Mouth on penis? - Yes.
- Yes.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
I became pregnant with Anne in 1923.
I decided to give up my graduate work.
By the time Anne was born, I had collected over 200,000 gall wasps.
Joan came along a year later.
Just after Joan's fifth birthday, I reached my goal of half a million wasps.
And Bruce is our youngest.
Bruce found the gall that hatched the millionth wasp.
It was in the mountains outside Mexico City.
They grow up so fast.
[ Man ] We just didn't know who to talk to, Professor Kinsey.
[ Kinsey ] What about your parents?
[ Woman ] I'd rather die.
[ Man ] We heard you had good advice for some of the biology students.
Sexual difficulty among newly married people is more common than you think.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
- How long have you been married? - Two months now.
And, Emily, you've had absolutely no response during that time?
It's like I'm dead down there.
We went to the doctor, and he said there's nothing wrong.
Does Ben ever use his fingers to excite you?
Um...
why bother,
now that we can do the real thing?
What's your most common sexual position?
There's more than one?
Mac and I are still discovering some.
[ Exhales ]
Emily, were you sexually experienced before you got married?
No. [ Giggles ]
I still thought babies came out of women's navels.
[ Chuckles ]
Did you ever masturbate?
It's all my fault.
I'm damaged in some way.
I'm frigid.
I don't think that's the problem at all.
Ben, do you ever perform oral sex on Emily?
Uh, I-- I don't know what that means, sir.
Genital kissing.
[ Stammers Quietly ]
My brother told me that that causes problems
later on...
with having babies.
Oh, I don't think that's true.
No, I heard that too.
I can assure you, there's no relation between oral sex and pregnancy.
But how do you know?
How do I know the Earth is round? It just is.
But... has anyone actually proven
that there's no connection?
If you're asking whether there's been a scientific study
devoted to the subject of oral copulation and fertility,
well...
frankly, I don't know.
Well,
then how can you be sure?
I felt like a blundering amateur.
I couldn't imagine where those kids' crazy idea came from
until I discovered this--
Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique.
Oh, dear.
"Oral contact, while acceptable as a means of stimulation,
is pathological if carried through to orgasm and possibly injurious."
I must be in grave danger then.
Wait. "The hand should never be used for the purpose of sexual excitation.
"There is but one finger of love with which to approach the female genitals,
and that is the male organ."
[ Giggles ]
It's all just hooey. Morality disguised as fact.
Just do your tie. Hmm? Oh.
Professor Kinsey's methods
of collecting vast numbers of gall wasps
over a wide geographic range
have made him a starred scientist.
They have also earned him his immortal nickname
"Get-A-Million" Kinsey. [ Guests Laughing ]
[ Mutters ] "Bore-A-Million" Kinsey.
His new book, The Origin of Higher Categories in--
"Sinnips"? "Cynips"?
Close enough.
Traces the origin of the gall wasp back to its birthplace
in the Upper Cretaceous.
So, now I give you...
Dr. Kinsey.
Thank you, President Wells, for that incisive description of 20 years of work.
[ Clears Throat ] I thought you might actually have read my book
until I saw those crib notes in your palm.
[ Laughing ] Crib notes!
Of course, my other book on cynips
hasn't been checked out of the library in six years.
I'd be surprised if a dozen people have read it.
But I guess I always knew that gall wasps weren't going to...
make them beat a path to my door.
In any case, thank you, Herman.
This is-- This is splendid. A really fine event indeed.
Thank you. [ Wells ] Cheers, Prok.
Congratulations. [ Guests ] Hear! Hear!
[ Woman ] Cheers.
Some reform-minded undergraduates
paid me a visit the other day, Thurman.
They are campaigning for a sex course.
I already cover sex in the hygiene class.
Which the student paper called the most useless course on campus.
Oh, Kinsey. I'm glad to see middle age hasn't softened the edges.
Mrs. Kinsey. Not only is your class irrelevant, it's irresponsible.
There's a V.D. epidemic sweeping this country, Thurman.
And that's my fault?
I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered.
Besides, there's a cure for syphilis,
and it's called abstinence.
Penicillin works just as well.
Herman, the trustees appointed you
to shake things up around here.
Why not address the need for sex instruction that deals frankly
with students' real questions, real concerns?
Open sex instruction promotes daydreaming.
It is better to address these matters in a general medical course.
You mean an anti-sex course,
with irrelevant gabble about dahlias and bees.
Gentlemen. Please.
I am going to take the students' proposal under advisement.
Good.
But since I just got this job
and wouldn't mind hanging on to it for a couple of weeks,
I think I'm gonna stick with the hygiene course for now.
[ Projector Motor Running ] [ Man On Film ] Medical authorities state
that, of the type of teenage girls
applying at public health stations for aid,
the percentage that is infected with venereal disease
is always very high.
[ Man Narrating ] In all of these cases,
where youthful energy and inquisitiveness are unrestrained,
** [ Swing ] the sex urge is always present,
and promiscuity nearly always follows...
[ Both Chuckle ] with its inevitable harvest
of abortions, illegitimate births and...
disease.
- What's your trouble, Jerry? - Well, I--
I've got a pretty bad sore down here.
Just stretch out on that table over there. We'll have a look at you.
[ Narrator ] The story vividly portrays
the misery caused to innocent victims...
[ Groans ] by the ignorance or selfishness
of individuals infected with syphilis.
[ Doctor ] You had to learn the hard way
that you can't tell by the looks of a woman
whether she has syphilis or not.
I guess that finishes me.
I'll have to quit school
and go someplace where people don't know who I am.
[ Narrator ] The cure for juvenile delinquency is
an education in the dangers and consequences
of breaking the time-tested rules
laid down for the regulation of human conduct.
The idea that men need sex
is a lie.
If it were true,
the boy who exercises his sex organs regularly
would achieve the greatest sexual experiences in later life.
Whereas, in fact, that boy is likely to be sexually dead
by the time he reaches adulthood.
Abstinence poses no difficulty
for the college-age male.
Men don't reach their sexual peak until the age of 40.
It is the lower-class male,
often Negro,
who finds it difficult to control his urges.
However, perfect inhibition,
although an ideal to be striven for,
is not always achievable.
Stress and the worries of the day
can lead to a weakening of resolve,
opening the door to temptation.
When tense at bedtime,
I find there are little tricks to relaxing.
If I can't get to sleep,
I like to close my eyes
and think of all the Johns I know.
- [ Muffled Snickering ] - Oh.
Well, not only Johns.
Sometimes Peters.
- [ Snickering, Chuckling ] - How about Dicks?
- [ Loud Laughter ] - I'm sorry?
If you're here to enroll in Dr. Kinsey's class,
it's only open to faculty members and their wives, graduate students,
seniors and married undergraduates.
[ Groans ]
Come back and try in the spring.
Are you a senior?
Um, we're engaged.
Congratulations. Thank you.
Why offer a marriage course?
Because society has interfered
with what should be a normal biological development,
causing a scandalous delay of sexual activity
which leads to sexual difficulty in early marriage.
In an uninhibited society, a 12-year-old would know most of the biology
which I will have to give you in formal lectures.
So, let's start with the six stages of the coital sequence.
Stimulation,
lubrication, erection,
increased sensitivity,
orgasm and nervous release.
Both sexes experience all six stages equally.
Stimulation.
Who can tell me which part of the human body
can enlarge a hundred times?
Um... miss.
I'm sure I don't know.
And you've no right to ask me such a question in a mixed class.
I was referring to the pupil of your eye, young lady.
[ Class Laughing ]
And I think I should tell you
you're in for a terrible disappointment.
[ Laughing Continues ]
It is often with the eye that stimulation begins.
[ Gasping, Murmuring ]
The actual adjustments which are made in the male and female genitalia
are shown on this slide.
The vagina must be spread open
as the erect male organ penetrates.
You will see that the clitoris is swollen,
thus providing the erotic stimulation necessary
for the completion of the act on the part of the female.
[ Gasping Continues ]
You will also see that this point on the penis,
which is one of the most sensitive points, is similarly stimulated.
[ Thunder Rumbling ]
Ohh! [ Groans ]
Where on earth did you get that cap?
Oh. Professor Kinsey. I'm sorry.
It's a whaler's hat.
Not very pretty, but extremely practical in a storm.
- Do I know you? - I'm in your marriage course. Clyde Martin.
How are you finding it, Mr. Martin?
Oh, it's the most enlightening class I've ever taken.
Well, I'd better get going. I've got a job interview at the zoology department.
Forget that. Come with me.
All right.
[ Murmuring, Chattering ]
Don't worry. Dr. Kinsey will be staying late.
He'll get to all of you.
Can too much sex cause cancer?
Will wearing high heels make me sterile?
I think my vagina's abnormally shaped.
Can you get syphilis from a whistle?
Is homosexuality a form of insanity?
I think about my cat.
A lot!
Does su-s-s-suppressing sex
lead to stuttering?
[ Kinsey ] "Is my penis smaller than most?"
"Does too much masturbation cause premature ejaculation?"
"Is it unusual for my boyfriend to touch my anus?"
All excellent questions.
They all have the same answer--
I don't know.
From a sexual standpoint, it's hard to say what's common or rare
because we know so little about what people actually do.
This leaves most of us feeling anxious or guilty.
Am I interested in the right things?
Do I do things the normal way?
One of the ways of finding out what people do
is to find out what they've done.
So please, take the time to fill out these sex questionnaires.
Try to be as accurate and honest as you possibly can.
This will only work-- Pass them along, please.
This will only work if you tell the truth.
[ Martin ] Dr. Kinsey, this is really... amazing.
These colors are incredible.
It's the most complete collection east of the Mississippi.
We have over 250 separate varieties of irises.
[ Grunting ]
Good work, Martin, but you're using the wrong muscle group.
Come on. Here. Bend the legs. Use the thighs.
Okay. The arms should only be used to guide.
No, you do it. Guide.
Ah!
Lemonade.
Mac, these responses will floor you.
The gap between what we assume people do and what they actually do
is enormous.
[ Martin ] You know what amazes me?
There's no relation between how sexy a girl looks and her sex life.
The ugly ones seem to get all the action.
I always thought "ugly" was an ugly word.
Sorry.
Not only does every male in the class have a history of masturbation.
Most of the women do too.
That doesn't surprise me.
What about premarital sex?
About a third of the married men claim at least one experience.
- It's only one in 10 for the women. - If they're telling the truth.
[ Martin ] And there's extramarital sex too.
Not just heterosexual, but homosexual.
I just wish we could get more volunteers.
A hundred cases is hardly representative.
Maybe it's because it's a questionnaire.
Feels too much like homework or a test.
I agree. Also, people don't know if they can trust you.
They have to be sure their secrets are safe. But that's ridiculous.
Everyone knows I keep those questionnaires under lock and key.
Clyde has a point.
You're asking people to reveal information that's very sensitive,
possibly even damaging.
What if you just talked to them?
Then all their secrets would be in your head.
Martin, you should have spoken up months ago.
I can't tell. Was that a compliment?
Yes, I think it was.
People resist at first.
But I'm trying to choreograph the questions
so they'll be disarmed into answering.
How many different things have you put in there, Daddy?
It's the Kinsey stew, sweetie.
"Clean out the refrigerator" night, you mean.
Martin's been surprisingly helpful.
He's an ideal practice subject,
since he's had relations with both men and women.
Where have you been? Swim practice.
How'd it go? Pretty good.
Coach said he might start me at the next meet. Bruce, that's wonderful.
I told you there won't be any more swimming unless your science grades improve.
I can't help it, Dad. I hate biology.
That's because you have never developed your intellect.
Physical activity is important, son,
but your interest in sports is excessive.
Yes. Maybe he should take up engineering instead.
The one-on-one is turning out to be so elastic.
Talking to people yields more information than I ever imagined.
I think it will prove to be a groundbreaking technique.
What if they make things up? That's what I'd do.
I'm building in little trip wires to catch lies and inconsistencies.
- Would you like to take my sex history, Daddy? - Do you have a sex history?
No.
What about you, Anne? You've been dating Jim for a while now.
We've done some petting.
I figured we wouldn't try intercourse until college.
That's probably better.
If Anne can have intercourse, I should be able to too.
Your sister's 18 and seriously involved with someone.
Does it hurt?
- What, dear? - Breaking the hymen.
Oh...
just a little-- it's nothing too bad.
It helps if you spread the vula to facilitate penetration.
Can we please talk about something else for once?
Other families don't do this. It isn't normal.
When did you become such a prig?
My friends aren't even allowed to come over here. Their parents think you're a menace!
You spend too much time in the water. All that chlorine's done something to your brain!
- Have you learned nothing? - Sometimes I don't know where he came from.
Nothing!
Bruce? Bruce.
I don't wanna talk about it. He won't get off my back.
[ Horn Honks ] [ Train Passing ]
[ Kinsey ] I heard about this community from a former student of mine.
This is my third trip, and already the results have been astounding.
By my calculation, there are over 300,000 cases here in Chicago,
and no one's ever even bothered to talk to them before.
It's a gold mine of information, Martin,
and we've got it all to ourselves.
** [ Jazz ] [ Chattering, Laughing ]
What'll it be, handsome?
Two scotches.
I find liquor is an essential tool for social lubrication,
although it has involved more drinking
than I thought I would ever do in a lifetime.
Let's get started.
Hello, I'm Professor Kinsey from Indiana University,
and I'm making a study of sex behavior.
Can we sit and talk? I assume you're joking.
No, I'm not.
I'd be grateful if you'd answer some questions about your sexual history.
Mary here is a professor.
She says she wants to study my sex behavior.
- Well, tell her to stick around and watch. - [ Man Chuckling ]
Andy's here. You have to see what he's wearing. [ Sighs ] I can't wait.
That Andy.
Hello. I'm Professor Kinsey from--
Excuse me. I'm Professor Kinsey.
Excuse me-- Hello.
I'm Professor Kinsey from Indiana University,
and I'm making a study of sex behavior.
- Can I ask you a few questions? - I've heard about you.
- You're the sex doctor, right? - I guess I am.
If you'd be kind enough to talk to me, it would be of great help to science.
Sure. What do you want to know?
[ Man ] Same boy. Tommy Potts.
We were messin' around in a haystack,
you know, the way kids'll do.
Pop walked in,
found us, locked us in the barn.
[ Sighs ] Called my brothers in.
They, um--
They branded us.
Took turns doin' it.
Then they beat us raw.
Broke a couple ribs, collarbone.
Tommy, he, uh--
he didn't make out as well as I did.
- What age were you? - Thirteen.
And you've been on your own since then?
I get by.
It's not that I mind being queer.
'Cause I don't.
It's just, um,
I wish other folks weren't so put out by it.
Homosexuality happens to be
out of fashion in society now.
That doesn't mean it won't change someday.
Right.
[ Scoffs ]
But why didn't I see it before?
Human beings are just bigger, slightly more complicated gall wasps.
All I have to do is collect more than anyone else,
and homosexuals are the perfect place to start.
- [ Laughing ] - What?
I'm sorry. I just had an image of some of our friends hearing you right now.
As if the marriage course isn't bad enough.
Now, Prok, promise me
you'll get at least four hours' sleep before heading back.
Of course.
And let Clyde share in the driving.
Prok?
Okay, Mac.
I'll sign off now.
[ Water Running ] I love you.
Love you too.
[ Dial Tone ]
You know what impressed me tonight?
Mmm?
The way that you talk to people.
You can get just about anybody to open up.
Oh, well, it's just a matter of, uh,
putting yourself on their level.
No, it's more than that.
You really seem to care.
- This rating scale of yours? - Mm-hmm?
Uh, zero to six--
Zero being exclusively heterosexual,
and, uh, six being exclusively homosexual.
A great many people line up somewhere in the middle.
What makes you think that's true? Common sense.
Remember, about a third of our heterosexual histories
have homosexual acts, and vice versa.
Right.
I guess I'm about a three, huh?
Based on your sexual history,
I'd say that's, um, right.
How about you?
I suppose I've been a one or two...
most of my life,
even though it's taken a long time
to recognize it.
And now?
Probably...
th-three.
Have you ever done anything about it?
Would you like to?
I've taken on so many other people's secrets.
I don't want any of my own,
and certainly not with you.
You still haven't said anything.
It's not like I'm...
surprised exactly.
I've observed...
certain things over the years.
Such as?
A look or a gesture.
[ Sniffles ]
The pet student who suddenly becomes a member of the family
and then just as suddenly disappears when you tire of him.
I think you must know me better than I know myself.
But I'm not sure...
I understand.
Haven't I always been open to whatever you wanted?
It's not you, Mac. You're the best partner any man could have.
I'm just not enough. Is that it?
[ Sighs ]
Please, Mac.
This is inside of me. To what extent, I don't know.
But I'd be a hypocrite if I pretended it wasn't there.
- When I took your history-- - Don't! Don't!
...didn't you admit to having sexual feelings for other men? Don't use that against me!
I'm sorry. But what keeps you from acting on your feelings? Convention.
No! It's our marriage! It's our children!
Exactly. Social restraints.
Did you ever stop to think that perhaps those restraints are there
to keep people from hurting each other?
I don't sleep with other men because I love you
and I don't want to hurt you.
But what if it didn't hurt me?
Then I'd be hurt.
You're just afraid that I won't love you anymore, which is impossible, Mac.
The human animal is capable of all kinds of sexual expression.
Not all sex has to be sanctioned by love, enriched by emotion.
- To the Greeks-- - Stop!
Stop lecturing, Prok.
Stop using science to justify what you've done.
Oh, Mac.
Mac. [ Whimpers ]
Listen to me.
You're my girl. You always will be.
The bond we have, the life we share--
sex is nothing compared to that.
I can't talk about this anymore.
** [ Classical ]
[ Kinsey's Voice ] Most people think that what they do sexually
is what everyone does
or should do.
But I might remark
that nearly all the so-called sexual perversions
fall within the range of biologic normality.
For example, masturbation,
mouth-genital contacts, and homosexual acts
are common among most mammals,
including humans.
Society might condemn such practices on moral grounds.
However, it's ludicrous to call them unnatural.
But based on the first Book of Genesis
and according to public opinion,
there's only one correct sexual equation--
man plus woman equals baby.
Everything else is vice.
But the orgasm record
of the males in this classroom alone
proves the ineffectiveness of social restrictions
and the imperativeness of the biologic demand.
Why are some cows highly sexed
while others just stand there?
Why do some men need 30 orgasms a week
and others almost none?
Because everyone is different.
The problem is, most people want to be the same.
They find it easier to simply ignore
this fundamental aspect of the human condition.
They're so eager to be part of the group
that they'll betray their own nature to get there.
If something pleasurable and strongly desired is prohibited,
it becomes an obsession.
Think about this.
** [ Classical Continues ]
** [ Ends ]
You have better things to do
than help a middle-aged woman home with her groceries.
Prok got worried when he couldn't reach you.
Said he had to take histories later this evening,
so he'd like an early dinner.
Hmph. Preferably 5:00.
Hardly gives me time to boil an egg.
Can I help? No. I'll manage.
I just-- I'm sorry he made you play messenger.
No. I volunteered.
Mmm.
Hear that?
What? The sound of an empty nest.
[ Chuckles ]
Must be a big adjustment. Have you heard from Bruce yet?
No. He's loving college.
Maybe it's just being away from here.
Oh. Would you like a piece of pie?
Rhubarb? Have a seat.
You know, Clyde, I didn't like you very much at first.
I don't blame you.
Most women would have had me murdered. Oh, I considered it.
I hate to think of myself as conventional.
But if this had to happen,
I'm glad it was you.
And I... have to admit there have been some benefits.
It certainly sparked things up sexually.
I suppose we'd both grown bored without even realizing it.
I think you've handled it remarkably well.
I learned something a long time ago.
Once Prok has his mind set, it's no use trying to stop him.
Yes.
He is...
relentless.
Clyde?
You know, this thing between Prok and me,
it was fine for a while, but...
I guess I just really miss sleeping with women.
That's perfectly understandable.
It's clear from your history, you have a greater sexual interest in women than men.
Good.
Then you won't mind if I ask Mac to have sex with me?
I mean, only if it appeals to you, of course.
- Would it be separately or together? - Oh, definitely just you and I.
Oh, I think I might like that.
What do you think, Prok?
- [ Mac Moans ] - [ Both Laughing ]
Mac. The Rockefeller Foundation is coming today.
You-You know, I enjoy this... tremendously.
We still have to catalog those prints, Martin.
Please. Coming, Prok.
It's just-- It's a very full day. Mm-hmm.
Coming!
[ Kinsey ] One key to understanding a foreign culture is its pornography.
Every culture produces its own peculiar sexual imagery--
as distinct as its cuisine.
As you can see, Brazil's imagery tends towards zoophilia
while Italy favors nuns and priests.
In England, one often sees depictions of the stern headmistress--
wankers and spankers.
While in the Far East, it's soft "flage" and light bondage.
You've amassed an impressive collection.
Thank you. Only what I've been able to afford from my own savings.
But if the Rockefeller Foundation agrees to our grant,
some of that money will help us build a world-class library.
- Um, Herman? That's 200 years old. - [ Class Bell Rings ]
- Oh. - Have you any idea when you might decide?
Prok, please, Dr. Gregg just got here.
[ Wells Chuckles ] Sometimes I'm amazed anything has survived.
The Library of Congress has a policy
of destroying whatever it considers too erotic.
The loss to science has been, uh, incalculable. [ Claps Hands ]
There's plenty of time to take your sex histories before dinner.
Who'd like to go first?
I--
[ Stammering ] I-I-- I don't, uh--
Early in my bug-hunting days, someone asked me what I was looking for.
I said I wouldn't know until I saw it statistically.
A scientist can only generalize with reliable certainty
if he has enough statistical information.
Is this your first time in Bloomington, Dr. Gregg?
Yes. It's lovely. Hillier than I expected.
[ Kinsey ] That's why I've broken the American population down
into 200 major social subgroups.
We'll get anywhere from 400
to a thousand histories from each group
for a total of 100,000, give or take a few.
It could take 20 years, but, at the end, we'll finally be able to answer
most of the basic questions about human sexuality.
Herman, is the pot roast dry?
No. It's delicious.
The first publication will be a male volume
followed a year later by the female study,
then another nine books dealing with sex offenders, homosexuality,
pregnancy and abortion and art--
studied from a sexual standpoint, of course.
With the children gone, I don't get to cook big meals anymore.
Mac. Let's get to the point.
This project is one of the greatest ever undertaken
in connection with the human animal.
But without support from the Rockefeller Foundation,
it will never get off the ground.
There are those who argue that...
sex is largely a matter of feelings
and psychological attitudes--
things beyond your training as a zoologist.
That's like saying a biochemist can't analyze cooking
because he's not a chef.
- It's inane. - Prok, come on.
That is, it's really a very stupid way of looking at things.
One of the aims of science is to simplify.
The only way to study sex with any scientific accuracy
is to strip away everything but its physiological functions.
And this team you're proposing?
I'll need two pair of hands at least-- both with advanced degrees in science.
And Clyde Martin, of course.
[ Gregg ] Since you're working in such a delicate area,
they need to be as clean as Fuller Brush men.
Um--
Door-to-door salesmen, Prok.
I think what Dr. Gregg is saying is that anyone involved in the project
needs to have motives that are entirely pure and scientific and above reproach morally.
- I couldn't agree more. - [ Gregg ] Ah.
- Now, there's one more thing. - Mm-hmm?
I hope you're not planning to dwell on sexual oddities and perversions.
Science is always interested in the rare.
Yes, but it's advisable to stick to what's normal.
You don't want to shake people up.
Of course not. I'm just a taxonomist-- a measurer.
I'm happy to leave the social policies to others.
Ah. Ah.
Well, that all sounds good. Very good.
So, if you're ready,
I'd like to begin with a few background questions.
No. All wrong. Start by putting the subject at ease.
Would you care for a drink, Mac? Why, a glass of water would be very nice.
Do anything fun this weekend?
My daughters were in town, so I never stopped.
We had a marvelous meal Saturday night.
Really? What did you cook? I started with a little--
See how much more relaxed she's become?
If you ease in with innocuous questions,
people forget they're giving sex histories.
How did you first find out about masturbation?
I invented it, son.
Sometimes I tie a rope around my balls when I jerk off.
- And what other masochistic acts do you enjoy? - Does that mean "queer"?
How often do you have intercourse?
- Two or three times. - A month?
No, a day. Mmm.
How often do you reach orgasm?
- Once. - A day?
No. Only once.
About 20 years ago.
I was sitting on a piano stool listening to music.
Mm. Oh, that's good.
How old were you when you first engaged in sexual activity with a partner?
- [ Foreign Accent ] Fourteen. - How?
With horse.
How often were you having intercourse with animals at age 14?
Is true. I fucked a pony.
You are genius. How did you know?
You just said you had sex with a horse.
No. Whores.
Not horse. Whores.
Do you find my answers typical?
- Am I normal? - Am I normal?
[ Man, Foreign Accent ] Am I normal?
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
Yes. I found a book in the dining room buffet
under all the tablecloths,
and I used to put it under my shirt
and go into the bathroom and sit and read it.
But I was very frightened.
[ Man ] She told her mother that she didn't like it. How will I get it back?
Or maybe it was just her mother who didn't like it.
Before you know it, the police bangin' on the front door.
Hell, I didn't even know it was illegal.
Now I'm in here for five years. One of them old gals caught me out in the field.
I guess I was about nine, 10.
And she say she was gonna show me a new game called "puddin'."
And, well, I guess I kinda liked it. [ Indistinct ]
Horses in the stable, and by watching them-- [ Continues, Indistinct ]
The father said, "I put my roll of bills in your mother's pocketbook,
and I got you for change." But it felt good.
[ Voices Overlapping, Blending ]
[ Overlapping Voices Continue ]
[ Woman ] I saw myself as nasty and terrible-- [ Man ] I believe in God--
[ Overlapping Voices Continue ]
[ Elderly Woman ] I went to my mother--
"Mama, is this true?
Do men put their thing in women?"
[ Man ] I only did it that one time.
[ Overlapping Voices Continue ]
If you weren't a virgin, you were a fallen woman. Nobody would want you.
Tested us for, uh, masculine and feminine traits.
- They were both naked. - It was part of me.
[ Voices Overlapping, Blending ]
[ Voices Speeding Up ]
[ Overlapping Voices Murmuring ]
You may kiss the bride.
Did you hear Professor Kinsey found a place for us to live?
Oh, let me guess. It's just a few blocks from here.
- How did you know? - He likes to keep the troops in one place.
- [ Chuckles ] - At least you passed the test.
- What do you mean? - Well, he took your sex history, didn't he?
Mm-hmm.
Well, he wouldn't have let Clyde marry you unless you fit in.
Uh, didn't Clyde mention the calendars?
Prok likes for us to keep a record of our sexual activity.
- Tell them about that dream you had the other night. - Mmm!
I was in the middle of the most intense erotic encounter--
He wouldn't say who with. when all of a sudden the doors flew open,
and there was Prok standing there with that stern look of his.
"Gebhard, hurry up! You're wasting countless thousands of hours of project time."
Well, needless to say, the mood was broken.
So he woke up, and I had to take over. It was the quickest orgasm he ever had.
We're trying to get pregnant again,
so, uh, there was no raincoat to dull the sensation.
[ All Laugh ] Oh.
Do the Kinseys know that you talk like this?
[ Pomeroy ] Uh--
- Could I get a picture? - Um,
why don't you call me when you get back from the honeymoon?
We'll have a nice long lunch.
- Look at the birdie. - Oh.
No, I've got the report. Thank you.
[ Pomeroy ] Uh, often among boys who live in cities and towns, comma,
[ Typing ] less often among farm boys, period.
[ Gebhard ] Perhaps you want to say "boys from small towns"
instead of "farm boys." Say-Say farm boys. Farm boys.
What's the difference? He's gonna rewrite it anyway.
Henry.
Everything looks in order here.
You can have either Thanksgiving or Christmas off.
Your choice entirely. [ No Audible Dialogue ]
Do you need anything before I go?
We'll never get this book done if people start leaving early.
I'll stay if you let me help you with these.
You don't have the time to answer each one personally.
If people take the trouble to write, it's the least I can do.
Mrs. Kinsey said to remind you to come home to eat.
And your father phoned again. Do you want me to talk to him?
No. I'll do it.
[ Door Closes ]
[ Birds Calling ] [ Man ] For thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever.
Amen. [ Mourners ] Amen.
Hello, Mildred. Mr. Morrissey.
Come say hello to Father.
[ People Chattering Quietly ]
I'm very sad for you, Alfred.
Well, it's not as though I'll be alone.
My daughter's too fat to get a husband.
And my son's lost his business. He moved back home.
The only one I got rid of is the big scientist.
Now he's working on some... secret project.
He was always the secretive type.
Would you really like to know what I'm working on, Father?
Oh, listen to this. He's gonna tell me his big secret.
It's really not a secret at all.
I'm trying to find out what people do sexually.
[ Gasps ]
You heard right, Father. It's a sex study.
[ People Gasping, Murmuring ]
Well, what do you expect me to do, applaud?
No.
But I would like you to contribute to the project.
Oh.
And you first moved to Hoboken at what age?
Sixteen.
Could have done this interview without me, Al.
I haven't told you a damn thing you didn't already know.
Let's move on then.
- How young were you when you first masturbated? - What?
- Touched yourself. - I never did that.
The male without a history of masturbation is almost nonexistent.
Well, he exists, Al, and you're looking at him.
This isn't gonna work.
I don't know why I bothered.
Stay where you are.
I'll try again.
How often did your masturbation occur in adolescence?
There was a problem, a--
A ch--
"chronic condition," the doctors called it.
How long did this continue?
I was outfitted...
with a tight strap that I had to wear at all times.
It-- It kept me from coming into contact with my genitals.
It was a--
a highly embarrassing remedy, but it-it proved effective.
The condition was cured.
How old were you?
I-I was 10.
I'm so sorry, Dad.
I'm feeling a little tired now.
Sounds to me like you're wasting your time, Al.
Nobody wants to know about these things.
[ Door Closes ]
How are you? When can we see Dr. Kinsey?
Hey. Hey, that's him! That's Kinsey! There he is!
* It's too darn hot My name is Dr. Thurman Rice,
and I'd be happy to talk to you about Professor Kinsey's--
Over here! repugnant book.
You are free to read and take notes,
but under no circumstances is the manuscript to leave the room.
I won't deny the going might get a little rough.
Dr. Kinsey's findings are surprising, sometimes even shocking.
For example, marital sex, which is really the only kind everyone agrees on,
is only one of nine means by which the American male achieves orgasm.
Premarital sex, extramarital sex,
masturbation, and homosexuality
are much more prevalent than anyone has ever imagined before.
I can assure you that Dr. Kinsey
has done everything in his power
to present this book tastefully.
So, I thought this might be a good time
to ask for a formal show of support.
Those in favor.
* I'd like to coo with my baby tonight *
* And pitch the woo with my baby tonight *
* I'd like to coo with my baby tonight *
I just hope it's not going to bring too much publicity.
With any luck, Mrs. Spaulding,
the general public won't even notice.
* According to the Kinsey Report *
* Every average man you know
* Much prefers his lovey-dovey to court *
* When the temperature is low
* But when the thermometer goes way up *
* And the weather is sizzlin' hot *
* Mr. Gob for his squab
That'll be "sex-fifty" please. * A marine for his queen
* A G.I. for his cutie-pie is not *
* 'Cause it's too, too too darn hot *
* It's too darn hot
[ Kinsey Lecturing ] In an open society,
it is done through observation.
* It's too darn hot * But in a Puritan culture,
sex remains a dirty secret,
often made dreadful through plain ignorance of what to do. ** [ Continues ]
[ Rice ] Mark my words, as soon as the publicity dies down,
the American public will greet this book
with the thundering silence it deserves. ** [ Ends ]
What brings you to New York, Dr. Kinsey?
We'll be taking the sex histories or artists, writers and actors,
including the entire cast of A Streetcar Named Desire.
We'll also be interviewing women for our next book, which is a female study,
as well as meeting with our benefactors at the Rockefeller Foundation.
Are you surprised at the success of your book?
No. It shows that the world has wanted this done.
Any plans on a Hollywood pictue based on the book?
I can't think of anything more pointless.
[ Laughter ] What about you, Mrs. Kinsey?
Has your life changed much?
My husband's busier than ever.
I hardly see him since he's taken up sex.
[ Reporter ] What about this female study, Mrs. Kinsey?
[ Overlapping Questions, Chattering ]
Gentlemen. Gentlemen, gentlemen. Please.
If you want to write about something useful,
I suggest you look into the current sex offender codes.
The majority of sex offenders in our prisons
have nothing in their histories
different from the rest of the population.
Their only crime is being too poor to hire a lawyer.
This is unfair. Everybody's sin is nobody's sin.
And everybody's crime is no crime at all.
[ Overlapping Questions, Chattering ]
"Everybody's sin is nobody's sin."
That wasn't my point at all.
The newspapers lift things out of context to make sensational reading.
Still, it's hardly your place to offer moral prescriptions.
You're sounding more like a-a preacher than a scientist.
[ Laughing ]
My father always hoped I'd become a preacher.
And why do you insist on flaunting your association with the foundation?
Haven't I just given you the best-selling scientific volume ever published?
Not only here but across the globe. Yes.
And it's casting a bright light on every aspect of the project,
especially some of your latest methodology.
Who have you been talking to?
- Well, I assume that most of it is gossip. - Alan.
It's been said that, uh,
you've taken to observing women.
- Go on. - In a heightened state of arousal.
It's true?
Yes. And do you know why?
We went to the leading gynecologists and asked for physical measurements,
and they barely knew what we were talking about.
When it comes to female sex organs,
we're all tragically ignorant.
[ Silent Stammer ] Who are these women?
- Volunteers. Friends of the project. - Prostitutes.
No. Prostitutes are useless. They fake their orgasms.
Jesus-- Alan.
The sex histories we have are invaluable.
Everyone knows true science lies in direct observation.
Nothing can replace what the eye can see directly.
- Or the camera. - Camera?
Don't tell me. Y-You're making movies?
Just some photographic studies of mammalian behavior.
Oh. Nature films.
Animals.
Yes, if you like.
Gentlemen, you're about to meet a truly rare creature.
Even the most casual contact
arouses a sexual response in her.
In intercourse, her first orgasm occurs
within two to five seconds after entry. [ Mac Clears Throat ]
- All set there, Barbara? - [ Woman ] I think so.
Come on in.
- Hello. - How do you do?
Did I mention that Barbara didn't have her first orgasm until she was 40?
Notice how she gently strokes the inner lips and the clitoris.
Eighty-four percent of our sample stimulate themselves in this way.
What about the vagina?
For all but a small minority of women, the vaginal tube is a dead cavity
practically devoid of nerve endings.
As you can see, the introduction of the penis
does nothing to relocate the source of stimulation,
even with as skillful a partner as Pomeroy.
- That is you, isn't it? - Last time I looked.
For years, women have been told that a clitoral orgasm is immature, neurotic.
So they've struggled with great anxiety
to relocate the orgasm in the vagina,
when, for many, it's a biologic impossibility.
According to the psychoanalysts, this woman is frigid.
[ Kinsey ] Good news, everyone.
The Rockefeller Foundation announced its annual grants today.
We've received $40,000 for the next year--
the highest grant they've ever bestowed on a scientific project.
[ Group Chattering ] Well.
And they've agreed to underwrite a new corporation,
making us future employees of the Institute for Sex Research.
[ Group Exclaiming ]
To Dr. Kinsey. [ Group ] Hear! Hear!
[ Martin ] And Mrs. Kinsey. [ Group ] Hear! Hear!
And to our husbands-- the Fuller Brush men of sex.
[ All Laughing ] Come here, my little prick nibbler.
[ Group ] Oh.
[ Kinsey ] Come on. Everyone, enjoy yourselves.
Ah. You don't look happy.
No, I am. Really.
It's just that Clyde is going to be away for so long this time.
Ah. Well, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him.
A lot of good that will do.
What are you trying to say, Mrs. Martin?
God, you're pretty.
[ Kisses ] [ Kinsey ] Drink up your grape juice, gentlemen.
We have gathered only 9,300 histories,
and we have the female volume to complete.
Starting tomorrow, we need to triple our efforts.
Well, it's still tonight, and since my third leg keeps hittin' me in the face,
I think it's time for a tumble.
[ Laughs ]
In the bonobo chimpanzee-- our nearest primate relation--
sex is the glue of social cohesion and peace.
[ Continues Dictation ] Cleared of notions like romantic love
or religion or morality,
their society's behavior hangs together
as a coherent unit of biology and conditioning.
Based on the experiences of females who have contributed to our histories,
we have observed a wide range of motivations for extramarital coitus.
At times, it is a conscious or unconscious attempt to acquire social status.
In other instances, it gives them a variety of experiences
with new sexual partners who are sometimes superior to their marriage partner.
There are occasions when it is done in retaliation
for the partner's extramarital activity
or for some sort of nonsexual mistreatment.
Some females discover new sources of emotional satisfaction,
while others find it impossible to share such an intimate relationship
with more than one partner.
We have also encountered a considerable group of cases
in which husbands encourage their wives to engage in extramarital activities
in an honest attempt to give them the opportunity
for additional sexual satisfaction.
[ Kinsey ] I've corresponded with this man for over 10 years, Pomeroy,
but I never thought he'd agree to meet.
He's amassed a lifetime of data.
Working for the Forestry Department has involved a lot of traveling,
so I've met a wide array of people.
By the way, my name is-- Please. There's no need.
Kenneth Braun. Don't worry, Dr. Kinsey.
I trust you.
We're actually a lot alike, you know.
How so? I record everything too--
the depth of every vagina I've encountered,
the length and circumference of every penis,
the time to reach orgasm,
the distance of ejaculation.
I've written it all down.
This is the record of my-- my life's real work,
which is sex, by the way.
Um, I find that recording is a--
is a way to experience things a second time, don't you?
I also have certain... rare abilities.
From a completely flaccid start,
I can become erect and ejaculate in 10 seconds flat.
I'd say that's pretty much physiologically impossible.
Why, the rush of blood alone would--
[ Panting ]
[ Grunting ]
Oh! Oh! [ Exhales ]
Shall we get started?
My grandmother introduced me to sexual intercourse when I was 10.
My first homosexual act was, uh, with my father.
Uh, I was 11--
Of the 33 members of my extended family,
I've had sex with 17 of them.
That's five generations now.
My penis is 8.24 inches long,
with a diameter of 2.8 inches when fully erect.
In my youth, I averaged eight cubic centimeters of semen per ejaculation.
By the time I was 50, I was down to five.
I've had sex with 22 separate species of animals.
I've had intercourse with 9,412 people.
I've had sexual relations with...
605 preadolescent males and...
231 preadolescent females.
Have you ever seen a boy orgasm?
No.
No, right.
I guess that's why I'm such a catch.
Physiologically, it's almost identical to an adult orgasm.
Screw this. I'll see you down at the bar.
[ Door Closes ]
I thought you trained them to be impartial.
Sometimes it's difficult.
Yeah, well, I suppose someone like me
really puts your beliefs to the test, huh?
How? You know.
- Everybody should do what they want. - I've never said that.
No one should be forced to do anything against their will.
No one should ever be hurt.
You know, you're a lot more square than I thought you'd be.
Let's get on with it.
Sure.
[ People Chattering ]
[ Wells ] Please, Governor.
[ Man Shouting Over Phone ] You're so angry, I can't reason with you.
When you calm down, we'll discuss it.
[ Sighs ] Seems that the archbishop of Fort Wayne
tipped off the customs board.
What is it with these people?
They're simply depictions of man in his natural state.
I don't know much about natural states, Prok,
but here in the state of Indiana we have a problem.
We'll just have to take the customs office to court.
And who's gonna pay for that, the Rockefeller Foundation?
You're an inch away from losing your grant as it is.
That's not true. What do you mean?
Hoover is still annoyed that you won't help him
find homosexuals in the State Department.
[ Breathes Deeply ]
It is rumored that he is compiling dossiers... on you,
the activities of your staff.
And, as you well know,
there have been complaints about your statistical methods.
Trumped-up nonsense.
Nothing but disguised prudery.
Prok.
Maybe there were small mistakes made in the male study,
but we've corrected them in the female volume.
This will be a very great book, Herman.
- Much better than the first. - Let's hope so.
[ Man On Radio ] Liberty and license are as far apart... [ Man #2, Indistinct ]
as liberty and tyranny.
[ Man #3 ] Kinsey is a deranged Nebuchadnezzar
leading women out into the fields
to mingle with the cattle.
"Self-appointed messiah of the sexually despised.
"Having had his way with the male of the species,
Kinsey now insecticizes American womanhood."
Did you get any sleep at all last night?
How many years do I have to study human behavior
before I'm no longer an entomologist?
Why do you read them, Prok?
I'm trying to find out why people hate this book so.
You told them their grandmothers
and their daughters are masturbating,
having premarital sex, sex with each other.
What did you expect?
Some respect!
[ Rings ]
Don't answer it.
Hello. [ Man ] Say, Kinsey, what kind of sick man are you?
Why do you wanna go around poking your nose-- [ Line Clicking ]
We're in trouble.
The cost of film stock is astronomical.
Shouldn't our nonprofit status get us a discount?
Prok, you've got to let some of this go.
We need a full-time accountant.
[ Commotion ] What in heaven's--
Stop this! [ Grunting ]
Stop it at once! In my office.
Gebhard, get in there.
- Everyone, back to work. - [ Chattering ]
Do you have any idea what a delicate time this is?
Our enemies are watching everything we do.
We can't afford a single slipup.
This has nothing to do with the project.
Everything is about the project! Oh, it's just a--
a misunderstanding. No, it's not!
You let things get out of hand with Martin's wife,
and now she wants to leave him.
Isn't that right, Martin?
And what about you, Gebhard? Are you planning to leave Agnes and the kids?
No, of course not. Then end it.
- I've tried. - It's not difficult. Just tell her it's over.
- No explanation necessary. - [ Out Of Breath ] All right.
[ Exhales ] Clyde, I'm--
I'm very sorry about all of this.
I saw this coming.
Gebhard should have nipped it in the bud.
You are so full of shit!
What are we to you, Prok? We're just lab rats?
Is this just another part of the project--
[ Exhales ] to prove that sex--
No. No, I'm sorry. Fucking is...
nothing more than-- than friction and harmless fun?
Well, let me tell you,
that is a risky game, because fucking isn't just something.
It's the whole thing.
And if you're not careful,
it will cut you wide open.
Go home to your wife, Clyde. She's going to need you.
[ Door Slams ] [ Breathes Deeply ]
I thought the rules were clear.
No intense romantic entanglements.
They only make people's lives unstable.
I guess we all can't be as disciplined as you, Prok.
- [ Door Closes ] - [ Kinsey ] The question of marital infidelity
remains one of the most complicated issues facing our society today.
Reconciliation of the married individual's desire
for a variety of sexual partners
and the maintenance of a stable marriage
presents a problem which has not been satisfactorily resolved in our culture.
The fact is, America is awash in sexual activity,
only a small portion of which is sanctioned by society. [ Whispering Chatter ]
Sexual morality needs to be reformed,
and science will show the way.
[ People Whispering, Indistinct ]
[ Whispering Continues ] Sometimes--
I sometimes wonder what this country would look like if...
the Puritans had stayed at home.
What if all the rogues and libertines
had crossed the Atlantic instead?
[ Clearing Throat ]
[ Constricted Voice ] But the enforcers of chastity are massing once again
to dissuade the scientist, intimidate him,
convince him to... cease research.
[ Chattering ] [ Man ] For heaven's sake!
If you could get him-- [ Indistinct ] Yes, Mrs. Kinsey.
Mac.
He's killing himself.
And you have to help me stop him.
Okay. Hmm?
[ Door Closes ]
Hi.
[ Weak Voice ] Doctors say my heart
sounds like a cement mixer.
At least they found one.
Seems I've developed a dependency on barbiturates.
So...
if I've been a bit harsh lately--
- How's Alice? - She's fine.
We're fine. You should get some sleep.
It's always been my biggest fear, Clyde--
dying before I finish this work.
[ Snoring Softly ]
In the course of these hearings on tax-exempt foundations,
we intend to show how Communists are financed in the United States.
There is a diabolical conspiracy back of all this,
and its aim is the furtherance of socialism in America.
Do you agree that Kinsey's research
aids the communistic aim
of weakening and destroying the youth of our country?
I do not agree, sir.
Well, tell me, Dr. Gregg,
does the Rockefeller Foundation really believe
that it belongs in the business of sex research?
I think it's probably something
the foundation shouldn't have anything to do with.
[ Spectators Murmuring ]
[ Gregg ] Dr. Kinsey's project is now in a position
to obtain support from...
other sources.
[ Spectators Murmuring ] [ Gavel Rapping ]
[ Gavel Rapping Continues ]
[ Wells ] With the loss of support from the Rockefeller Foundation,
Dr. Kinsey's project will need other funding if it is to survive.
** [ Classical ] Prok?
Prok, you home?
We are running a budget surplus due to increased enrollment,
which is a direct result of Dr. Kinsey's success and fame.
** [ Continues ] [ Wells Continues ] A small amount of this money
would be enough to keep the project afloat.
Prok?
- Prok? - [ Wells ] Why don't we put it to a vote?
All those in favor of increasing Dr. Kinsey's grant?
[ Object Clatters ]
That's it then.
This woman was beaten by her father when she first menstruated.
Now she's incapable of physical intimacy of any kind.
And this man-- "Dear Dr. Kinsey,
"it has taken me a long time to write to you,
I suppose because I was too ashamed and I--"
Where'd that blood come from?
I punctured my foreskin.
I-- I wanted to understand different--
different kinds of sensations.
It, uh-- It didn't give me any pleasure.
And there-- And there was only a little--
pain. [ Crying ]
[ Crying Continues ]
I couldn't help them, Mac.
I couldn't figure it out.
Just stop punishing yourself.
Now I-- I've ruined it for everyone.
[ Sobbing ]
[ Sobbing Continues ]
[ Groans Softly ]
This is an exercise in futility.
Huntington Hartford is heir to the A&P fortune.
He can solve your financial problems with the stroke of a pen.
I won't beg, Mac.
[ Sighs ] I won't beg.
** [ Piano ] Ohio deplores fellatio but tolerates cunnilingus.
Whereas in my home state of Indiana,
all forms of oral sex are illegal, even within marriage.
Mmm. The current sex laws
are completely out of touch with the real world.
I've had four wives.
Some people say that makes me a sex offender.
[ Guests Laughing ]
Well, Hunt, if you keep interrupting Dr. Kinsey,
you're going to have to find a fifth.
- [ Guests Chuckling ] - Please go on.
Even now, 43 states will punish a single act of adulterous intercourse.
[ Hartford ] I'm thinking of building a museum.
What's your opinion of modern art, Dr. Kinsey?
It's not my area of expertise, Mr. Hartford.
I really don't consider myself qualified to discuss it. Well, why not?
Just because I own some supermarkets,
that doesn't mean I'm only capable of talking about groceries.
[ Guests Chuckle ]
Oh. Do you hate modern art as much as I do?
Squiggly lines, empty canvases, white on white.
So, the next book will deal with sex offenders?
We need money, Mrs. Hartford.
We--
[ Dishes Clatter ] We need someone to give us money.
You have no idea what I've had to endure
just to obtain the same rights
other scientists take for granted.
My funding has been slashed,
and my name has been dragged through the mud
in every newspaper and magazine across this country.
Every dollar I've ever earned has-- Leave me alone!
[ Clears Throat ] Every dollar I've ever made has gone back into the project.
But fighting this customs case has cost us an appalling amount. We're broke.
Dr. Kinsey-- Please.
I'm not even sure how much time I have left.
Help me. I have to get it all on the record.
Well, I'm very sorry.
Any support I give might be misconstrued as an endorsement of sex.
I can't afford that kind of exposure.
I see.
But I'm sure something will come through.
[ Bird Calling ]
You're right. Rich people have lazy minds.
Took them five minutes to find a water glass.
- I'm taking you to the hospital. - Mm-mm. Mm-mmm.
No. No more beds.
I spent my whole childhood lying in bed.
Let's go back to the hotel, Mac.
I wanna pick up a few histories in the morning.
[ Groans ]
[ Woman ] We'd been married for 23 years,
with three marvelous children.
And as soon as my youngest left to go to college,
I took a job in an arts foundation.
I met a woman there--
secretary in the grants office.
We became fast friends, and...
before long, I fell in love with her.
Hmm.
This came as quite a shock, as you might imagine.
The more I tried to ignore it,
the more... powerful it became.
You have no idea
what it's like to have your own thoughts
turn against you like that.
I couldn't talk to anyone about my situation,
so I found other ways to cope.
[ Sniffles ] Uh, I took up drinking.
Eventually, my husband left me.
Even my children fell away.
[ Voice Breaking ] I came very close to... ending it all.
It's just another reminder of how little
things have changed in our society.
What are you talking about? Things have gotten much better.
Oh? What happened?
Why, you did, of course.
After I read your book, I realized
how many other women were in the same situation.
I mustered the courage to talk to my friend,
and she told me, to my great surprise,
that the feelings were mutual.
We-We've been together for three happy years now.
You saved my life, sir.
[ Martin ] Just, uh, one more question.
You've just told me your entire history--
childhood, family, career,
every person you've ever had sex with--
but there hasn't been a single mention of love.
That's because it's impossible to measure love.
And as you know, without measurements, there can be no science.
But I've been thinking a lot about the problem lately.
Oh. Problem?
When it comes to love, we're all in the dark.
So, you do think it matters?
What time's our flight, Mac?
Not for a couple of hours.
Let's stop in the woods.
[ Woodpecker Drumming ]
[ Birds Chirping ]
[ Bird Shrieks ]
[ Bird Calls Continue ]
Mac?
I'm right here, Prok.
Just imagine,
these trees are over a thousand years old.
Hence the name: Sequoia sempervirens--
always green, always alive.
Mac, did I ever tell you about the Mbeere?
No, not that I recall.
They're an ancient East African tribe.
They believe that trees are imperfect men
eternally bemoaning their imprisonment--
the roots that keep them stuck in one place.
But I've never seen a discontented tree.
Look at this one-- the way its roots are gripping the ground.
I believe it really loves it.
Come on, Mac.
What's the hurry?
There's a lot of work to do.
** [ Upbeat ]
[ Fingers Snapping ]
* You never know how much I love you *
* Never know how much I care
* When you put your arms around me *
* I get a feelin' that's so hard to bear *
* You give me fever
* When you kiss me
* Fever when you hold me tight
* Fever in the mornin'
* And fever all through the night *
[ Fingers Snapping ]
* Sun lights up the daytime
* Moon lights up the night
* My eyes light up when you call my name *
* 'Cause I know you're gonna treat me right *
* You give me fever
* When you kiss me
* Fever when you hold me tight
* Fever in the mornin'
* And fever all through the night *
** [ Vocalizing ]
** [ Ends ]