John Bancroft

Several advocacy organizations have denounced researcher Alfred Kinsey and Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute for promoting sexual immorality and legitimizing aberrant sexual behavior. In the following viewpoint, John Bancroft argues that Kinsey and his legacy have been wrongly maligned. Kinsey deserves some criticism, Bancroft points out; however, he is an important pioneer in behavioral research whose work has fostered a fuller understanding of human sexuality. The Kinsey Institute, moreover, currently conducts scientific research on topics that policymakers should learn more about in a nation rife with sex-related problems. Bancroft is the director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction in Bloomington, Indiana.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What allegations constitute part of the “campaign of misinformation” against...