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Life story of Alfred Kinsey, a man driven to uncover the most private secrets
of the nation, and a journey into the mystery of human behavior. In 1948
Kinsey irrevocably changed American culture and created a media sensation
with his book "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male". Using the technique of
his own famous sex interviews, story recounts the scientist's extraordinary
journey from obscurity to global fame. Rebelling against the rigid piety of his
home life, and drawn to the world of the senses, Kinsey becomes a Harvard-
educated zoologist specializing in the study of gall wasps. After being hired
to teach biology at Indiana University, Kinsey meets and marries a witty,
freethinking female student, Clara McMillen. In the course of his teaching he
discovers an astonishing dearth of scientific data on sexual behavior. When
students seek him out for advice about sexual concerns and problems, he
realizes that no one has done the clinical research that would yield reliable
answers to their questions. Inspired to explore the emotionally charged
subject of sex from a strictly scientific point of view, Kinsey recruits a team
of
researchers, including Clyde Martin, Wardell Pomeroy and Paul Gebhard.
Over time they refine an interviewing technique, which helps people to break
through shame, fear, and guilt and speak freely about their sexual histories.
When Kinsey publishes his Male study in 1948, the press compares the
impact to that of the atom bomb. But as the country enters the more paranoid
Cold War era of the 1950s, Kinsey's follow-up study on women is seen as
an
attack on basic American values. The ensuing outrage and scorn causes
Kinsey's benefactors to abandon him, just as his health begins to
deteriorate.
At the same time, the jealousies and acrimony caused by Kinsey's attempt
to create a private sexual utopia threaten to tear apart the research team and
expose them to unwelcome scrutiny.
