Kinsey Institute Research Blog – Exploring sexuality, relationships, and well-being.

The Kinsey Institute Interview Series: A Conversation with Dr. Lori Brotto

Posted on 05/14/2020 by Kinsey Institute

By Justin Lehmiller

What is a day in the life of a sex researcher like? In this interview series, I talk to some of the world’s foremost authorities on sex in order to answer this question, but also to provide a glimpse into what they’re currently working on, what the media tends to get wrong about sex, and what they think about some of the most pressing issues facing the field of sex research today.

For this interview, I spoke with Dr. Lori Brotto, a clinical psychologist and Professor at the University of British Columbia. Brotto is also the Canada Research Chair in Women’s Sexual Health and she has an extensive body of work that addresses topics including sexual desire, sexual dysfunction and its treatment, and asexuality. (more…)

What “Counts” As Masturbation? It Depends Who You Ask

Posted on 06/24/2019 by Kinsey Institute

By Justin Lehmiller

Masturbation is a behavior that sex researchers, educators, and therapists often talk about; however, they usually don’t specify what they mean by it. For such a commonly used term, it might be tempting to think that you wouldn’t need to define it because everyone probably has the same definition in mind, such as “touching your own genitals for pleasure.” However, this assumption may not be warranted, given that people’s definitions of sexual behaviors in general are all over the map. (more…)

Bisexual: Pride Primer

Posted on 06/14/2019 by Kinsey Institute

Bisexuality is a sexual orientation. Bisexuals are sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender or gender identity though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree. (more…)

Biological Sex: Pride Primer

Posted on 06/12/2019 by Kinsey Institute

Biological sex is a medical term referring to the chromosomal, hormonal and anatomical characteristics that are used to classify an individual as female or male. However, our complex arrangement of chromosomes, reproductive organs, external genitals, sex hormones, and secondary sex characteristics has many variations. Some people are born with a combination of male and female traits, or have both sets of a particular trait, or have traits that fall between the two. Biological measures also do not address psychological identity or gender experience. For these reasons, an alternative phrase is also used: sex assigned at birth.

Attraction: Pride Primer

Posted on 06/07/2019 by Kinsey Institute

When we talk about attraction in the context of sexuality and relationships, we usually mean sexual attraction, romantic attraction, or emotional attraction. Each of these is distinct and each may occur between same-sex or opposite-sex individuals. A relationship between two people can contain more than one kind of attraction, and the type and level of attraction may be different for each person. (more…)