Human Sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Sexuality - Essay Example Whether it would be positive or negative, the power of research and its importance, are undeniable and relevant. For any researcher(s), it becomes the question first and foremost, as to what any long term impact the individual(s) work, would have had on the ability for greater understanding. Articles and research papers are often times written by those who seek to research issues and then wish to deliver what they find to the rest of the world. Others may also wish to produce articles themselves, only this time, on assessing the impact of the work of others, such as the case would be with John Bancroft. In his work 'Alfred C. Kinsey and the Politics of Sex Research', Bancroft looks to the work done by Kinsey and the response of others to the research itself. With that being said, in regards to Kinsey, "It was evident from his own research, and has been confirmed in various ways since, that major changes in sexual behavior had been underway through much of the first half of the 20th century," (Bancroft, p.2). This statement in itself, would give credence to the validity of Kinsey's work and show the need for greater study and debate. The article discusses the attention paid towards contraception and how the debate would consider, for instance, the use of contraception and its ability to control the size of average families. From a social standpoint, there would be those that felt it was important to have the opportunity to be aware of such issues and others would think that an issue like sexuality, should be kept in the confides of the home and in the bedroom between a man and woman. While it would have been easy to single out Kinsey for his research, it is important to note that, "He was not the first to report results of sex surveys in the US," (Bancroft, p.3). With that in mind, it would be fair to classify Kinsey as one of many, who would have put together studies on the matter at hand. Author Bancroft asserts, regards to assessing Kinsey's impact, "But one clear part of Kinsey's legacy is that sex became less mysterious," (Bancroft, p.4). When certain things have not been discussed in any great detail before, they can often times seem to some, as being unknown and dangerous even. Kinsey's work would take away the disguise and uncertainty about regular human sexual activity and reveal it to be nothing more, than typical behavior that would occur among healthy human beings. His greatest desire would be to reveal the distinct natures of male and female human beings and how each one would approach sexual intercourse. Sometimes, after research has been performed, the results lead to the production of revised guidelines. This would be true as a result of Kinsey's work. Based on his findings, "The American Law Institute, after much debate, published its revised Model Penal Code in 1995. This was clearly influenced by Kinsey's findings," (Bancroft, p.4). The author further goes on to detail that, as a result of Kinsey's work, the revised Model Penal Code would make it so that such things as being a homosexual, living together when you were not married, as well as the sexual activity of two people who were willing participants, were no longer seen as crimes. With such a revision taking place, it would lead many to consider the influence of Kinsey in the area of sexual activity, to be considerable and not to be