Kinsey collected 7.5 million wasps during his time as an entomologist. While his wasp work was a far cry from his later studies, it did help him develop his obsessive research style. The two subjects have some major differences: As just one example, gall wasps breed by embedding eggs into plants, causing growths to form that offer shelter and nourishment to their young. Alfred Kinsey collected millions of wasps.īefore Kinsey revolutionized our understanding of human sexuality, he studied the reproductive habits of gall wasps. All of these plans fell through when he ultimately switched his educational focus to entomology, the study of insects 4. Even as he was earning his degree, he entertained the idea of going to work for the YMCA (something he’d done in his youth) after finishing school. Alfred complied but never warmed up to the idea of working as an engineer full-time.
But his father had other aspirations for him: He insisted his son go to college to study engineering. In high school, he was a dedicated piano player and even dreamed of becoming a concert pianist as an adult. Alfred Kinsey considered becoming an engineer, a concert pianist, and a YMCA employee.Ī career in human biology wasn’t always what Kinsey had in mind for himself. Kinsey’s upbringing did little to dissuade him from publishing sex research later in life that directly contradicted the conservative principles he learned in Sunday school. His father’s religious beliefs were so strict that he forbade his family, including visiting relatives, from doing any work on Sundays that didn't involve eating or going to church. Every Sunday the Kinsey clan attended Sunday school followed by a church service in the morning and a prayer meeting at night. Kinsey was raised in a devout Protestant household. Alfred Kinsey grew up in a religious environment. After just two years of participation, he had earned the ranks required to become one of the young organization's first Eagle Scouts-the program’s highest achievement. At the time, the club was barely a year old. Alfred Kinsey was one of America's first Eagle Scouts.Īlfred Kinsey joined the Boy Scouts of America in 1911 when he was about 17. Here are some things you may not know about the controversial figure.
Today many historians credit Kinsey with setting the event in motion. He died in 1956 just as the Sexual Revolution was poised to take hold of the nation. Alfred Kinsey-who was born in Hoboken, New Jersey on June 23, 1894-grew up in early 20th century America, in a cultural climate that regarded concepts like homosexuality, masturbation, and the female orgasm with ignorance at best and revulsion at worst.
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