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Alfred Charles Kinsey ( June 23, 1894 - August 25, 1956) was an entomologist and zoologist at the Indiana University at Bloomington who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University at Bloomington, now called the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction.

In doing so, Kinsey single-handedly created the academic field of sexology. His Kinsey Reports led to a storm of controversy and turned Kinsey into an instant celebrity. Articles about him appeared in magazines such as TIME, Life, LookLook was a weekly, general-interest magazine published in the United States from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles. It was generally considered the also-ran to Life magazine. It was a large size magazine of 11 by 14 inche, and McCall's . His reports were regarded by many as a trigger for the sexual revolution of the 1960s. ConservativeConservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. There are also a number of Conservative political parties in various countries. All of these are primarily (though not necessaril groups, especially ChristianChristian is: a follower of the faith of Christianity a popular first name and surname, especially in Northern Europe According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their f and right-wingIn politics, right-wing the political right or simply the right are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. It is usually, but not always, associated with conservatism. groups attacked Kinsey for what they saw as his immoral and dangerous researchFor the suburb of Melbourne, Australia, see Research, Victoria. Research is an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviors, or theories, or to make practical applications with the h. Indiana University's president Herman B. WellsHerman B. Wells ( 1902- 2000) was the Dean of the Indiana University School of Business Administration from 1935 to 1937, and later President (1938-1962) and Chancellor (1962-2000) of Indiana University. Wells, Herman B. Wells, Herman B. defended Kinsey's research in what became a well-known test of academic freedomAcademic freedom is a widely used and championed phrase, but an often poorly defined concept with different meanings in different cultures and different contexts. It can refer to the alleged right of students, teachers or academic institutions to do or be.

Kinsey has been accused of having unusual sexual practices. In James H. Jones 's biography Alfred C. Kinsey: A Public/Private Life, Kinsey is said to have been a bisexual masochist. He reportedly seduced his graduate students and his staff, inserted a toothbrush into his urethra, tied rope around his testicles and pulled, and once gave himself an unanesthetized circumcision. He is also reported to have encouraged group sex among his staff and to have coerced his wife, his staff, and his staff's wives into making pornographic films in the family attic. Jones states that Kinsey's wife had sex with other men, but that the couple remained married for 35 years, in a relationship that remained sexual until Kinsey became ill near the end of his life. None of these accounts of Kinsey's own sex life are supported by official statements from the Kinsey institute. While a few of them have been confirmed by other biographers, such as Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy , others are of doubtful veracity.

Kinsey's most prominent detractor is currently Judith A. Reisman, head of RSVPAmerica. Reisman alleges that Kinsey and his staff sexually abused children to produce some of the data in the Kinsey Reports. Kinsey Institute director John Bancroft claims that the subject of child/adult sexual interaction was deliberately chosen by Kinsey's opponents to discredit him because of the emotions surrounding it: "In recent years, when there has been anxiety bordering on hysteria about child sexual abuse, often resulting in circumstances where the accused is regarded as guilty until proved innocent, what better way to discredit someone?"

Kinsey's work continues to cause controversy decades after his death. While academic investigation into sex stimulated by Kinsey has resulted in an explosion of knowledge about topics previously considered taboo, there are continuing claims that the Kinsey reports have statistical and methodological errors. Kinsey's detractors often make such claims and state that because of these errors, his data is too unreliable to be quoted; despite this, his data is still widely cited.

His life is the subject of a 2004 biographical film, Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson as the scientist, and a 2004 novel by T.C. Boyle, The Inner Circle .