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Sexology

[[File:DrSablokSexologist.jpg|thumb|right|Sign advertising the services of a sexologist in the Old Delhi|Old city of Delhi]]
Sexology is the scientific study of sexual interests, behavior, and function. In modern sexology, researchers apply tools from several academic fields, including biology, medicine, psychology, statistics, epidemiology, sociology, anthropology, and criminology. It studies sexual development and the development of sexual relationships as well as the mechanics of sexual intercourse. It also documents the sexualities of special groups, such as the disabled, the handicapped, children, and the geriatric sexology|elderly. Sexologists study sexual dysfunctions, disorders, and variations, such as erectile dysfunction, pedophilia, and sexual orientation. Sexological findings can become controversial when they contradict mainstream, religious, or political beliefs.

Historical overview

While there are works dedicated towards sex in antiquity, the scientific study of sexual behavior began in the 19th century. Shifts in European national borders at that time brought into conflict laws that were sexually liberal and laws that criminalized behaviors such as homosexual activity. German society, under the sexually liberal Napoleonic code, organized and resisted the anti-sexual cultural influences. The momentum from those groups led them to coordinate sex research across traditional academic disciplines, bringing Germany to the leadership of sexology. Germany's dominance in sexual behavior research ended with the Nazi regime, marked by the destruction of the ''Institut für Sexualwissenschaft'' (Institute for Sexology) in Berlin. After World War II, sexology experienced a renaissance, beginning in the United States. Large scale studies of sexual behavior, sexual function, and sexual dysfunction gave rise to the development of sex therapy. Post-WWII sexology in the U.S. was influenced by the influx of European refugees escaping the Nazi regime and the popularity of the Kinsey Reports|Kinsey studies. Until that time, American sexology consisted primarily of groups working to end prostitution and to educate youth about sexually transmitted diseases. The advent of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s caused a dramatic shift in sexological research efforts towards understanding and controlling the spread of the disease.Gagnon, J. (1988). Sex research and sexual conduct in the era of AIDS. ''Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 1,'' 593-601.

Timeline of major events

Ancient

sex manual|Sexual manuals have existed since antiquity, such as Ovid's ''Ars Amatoria'', the ''Kama Sutra'' of Vatsyayana, the ''Ananga Ranga'' and ''The Perfumed Garden|The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation''. None of these treat sex as the subject of a formal field of scientific or medical research, however.

Pre World-War II

In 1837, ''De la prostitution dans la ville de Paris'' (Prostitution in the City of Paris) was published by Alexander Jean Baptiste Parent-Duchatelet. In that study, Parent-Duchatelet provided data from a sample of 3,558 registered prostitutes of Paris. That effort has been called the first work of modern sex research.Bullough, V. L. (1989). ''The society for the scientific study of sex: A brief history.'' Mt. Vernon, IA: The Foundation for the Scientific Study of Sexuality In 1886, Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing published ''Psychopathia Sexualis (book)|Psychopathia Sexualis.'' That work is considered as having established sexology as a scientific discipline.Hoenig, J. (1977). Dramatis personae: Selected biographical sketches of 19th century pioneers in sexology. In J. Money and H. Musaph (Eds.), ''Handbook of Sexology,'' (pp. 21-43). Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press. In 1897, Henry Havelock Ellis|Havelock Ellis, a British sexologist, co-authored the first English medical text book on homosexuality, ''Sexual inversion'' (Das Konträre Geschlechtsgefühle).http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=276359 (The original German-languaged edition was published in 1896.) A friend of Edward Carpenter, Ellis was one of the first sexologists who did not regard homosexuality as a disease, immoral, or a crime. He preferred the term sexual inversion (sexology)|inversion to homosexuality, and developed concepts such as autoerotism and narcissism, which were later adopted by Sigmund Freud. He is regarded as having been one of the most influential scholars in opposing Victorian morality regarding sex. In 1908, the first scholarly journal of the field, ''Journal of Sexology'' (Zeitschrift für Sexualwissenschaft), began publication and was published monthly for one year. Those issues contained articles by Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Wilhelm Stekel.Haeberle, E. J. (1983). ''The birth of sexology: A brief history in documents.'' World Association for Sexology. In 1913, the first academic association was founded: the ''Society for Sexology''.Kewenig, W. A. (1983, May 22-27). Forward. In E. J. Haeberle, ''The birth of sexology: A brief history in documents'' (p. 3). World Association for Sexology. Sigmund Freud developed a theory of sexualityThree Contributions to the Theory of Sex by Sigmund Freud - Project Gutenberg based on his studies of his clients, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Wilhelm Reich and Otto Gross, were disciples of Freud, but rejected by his theories because of their emphasis on the role of sexuality in the revolutionary struggle for the emancipation of mankind. In 1919, Magnus Hirschfeld founded the ''Institut für Sexualwissenschaft'' (Institute for Sexology) in Berlin. Its library housed over 20,000 volumes, 35,000 photographs, a large collections of art and another objects. The Institute and its library were destroyed by the Nazi's less than three months after they took power, May 8, 1933. Hirschfeld developed a system which identified numerous actual or hypothetical types of sexual intermediary between heterosexual male and female to represent the potential diversity of human sexuality, and is credited with identifying a group of people that today are referred to as transsexual or transgender as separate from the categories of homosexuality, he referred to these people as 'transvestiten' (transvestites).

Post World-War II

Alfred Kinsey founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University (Bloomington)|Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington in 1947. This is now called the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. He wrote in his 1948 book that more was scientifically known about the sexual behavior of farm animals than of humans.p. 3 of Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). ''Sexual behavior of the human male.'' New York and Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. Kurt Freund developed the penile plethysmograph in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. The device was designed to provide an objective measurement of sexual arousal in males, and Freund used it to help dispel a number of myths surrounding homosexuality. This tool has since been used with sex offenders.Associated Press (October 26, 1996). Kurt Freund, 82, notable sexologist.Kuban, Michael (Summer 2004). Sexual Science Mentor: Dr. Kurt Freund. ''Sexual Science'' 45.2 In 1966 and 1970, Masters and Johnson released their works ''Human Sexual Response'' and ''Human Sexual Inadequacy,'' respectively. Those volumes sold well, and they were founders of what became known as the Masters & Johnson Institute in 1978. Vern Bullough was the most prominent historian of sexology during this era, as well as being a researcher in the field.Dr. Vern L Bullough - Publications - Vern Bullough

21st Century

Technological advances have permitted sexological questions to be addressed with studies using behavioral genetics,Mustanski, B.S., Dupree, M. G., Nievergelt, C., Schork, N. J., & Hamer, D. H. (2005). A genomewide linkage scan of male sexual orientation. ''Human Genetics, 116,'' 272-278. neuroimaging,Ferretti, A., et al. (2005). Dynamics of male sexual arousal: Distinct components of brain activation revealed by fMRI. ''NeuroImage, 26,'' 1086-1096. and large-scale Internet-based surveys.Lippa, R. (2007). Guest Editor's introduction to the BBC special section. ''Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36,'' 145-145.

Notable contributors

See also: :Category:Sexologists This is a list of sexologists and notable contributors to the field of sexology, by year of birth:
- Carl Friedrich Otto WestphalFoucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality Vol. 1: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin (1976/1998) (1833–1890)
- Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (1840–1902)
- Albert Eulenburg (1840–1917)
- Auguste Henri Forel (1848–1931)
- Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
- Wilhelm Fliess (1858–1928)
- Havelock Ellis (1858–1939)
- Eugen Steinach (1861–1944)
- Robert Latou Dickinson (1861–1950)
- Albert Moll (1862–1939)
- Edward Westermarck (1862–1939)
- Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935)
- Iwan Bloch (1872–1922)
- Theodor Hendrik van de Velde (1873–1937)
- Max MarcuseHumboldt-Universität, Berlin. Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology. Retrieved on November 23, 2007. (1877–1963)
- Otto Gross (1877–1920)
- Ernst Gräfenberg (1881–1957)
- Bronisław Malinowski''Malinowski as "Reluctant Sexologist'' in ''Irregular connections'', by Andrew Lyons p.155-184 (2004)''The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia'' Bronislaw Malinowski (1929)The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia|(Wikipedia entry on ''The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia'') (1884–1942)
- Harry Benjamin (1885–1986)
- Theodor Reik (1888–1969)
- Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956)
- Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957)
- Mary Calderone (1904–1998)
- Wardell Pomeroy (1913–2001)
- Albert Ellis (psychologist)|Albert Ellis (1913–2007)
- Kurt Freund (1914–1996)
- Ernest Borneman (1915–1995)
- William Masters (1915–2001)
- Gershon Legman (1917-1999)
- Paul H. Gebhard (1917– )
- John Money (1921–2006)
- Ira ReissMcMurry University, Texas Retrieved on July 02, 2009. (1925-)
- Virginia Johnson (1925– )
- Preben Hertoft (1928– )
- Oswalt Kolle (1928– )
- Vern Bullough"Dr. Vern L Bullough Distinguished Professor Natural and Social Sciences" Retrieved on November 23, 2007. (1928–2006)
- William SimonSAGE Journals Online - Sexualities. Retrieved on July 02, 2009. (1930–2000)
- John Gagnon (1931– )
- Edward EichelMarriage Science.com Retrieved on July 02, 2009. (1932– )
- Fritz Klein (1932–2006)
- Milton Diamond (1934– )
- Erwin J. Haeberle (1936– )
- Gunter Schmidt (1938– )
- Rolf Gindorf (1939– )
- Volkmar Sigusch (1940– )
- Dorree Lynn (1941– )
- Martin Dannecker (1942– )
- Shere Hite (1943– )
- Ray Blanchard (1945– )
- Gilbert Herdt (1949– )
- Kenneth Zucker (1950– )

References

External links

- A resource list for professionals and students in human sexuality and sexual science
- Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology at the Humboldt University of Berlin
- Masters and doctoral programs in sexology
- Postdoctoral training programs in sexology
- Glossary of clinical sexology (en - it) Category:History of human sexuality Category:Sexology

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