donna drucker from wasp wings to sex dreams

02. Dezember 2015
DONNA DRUCKER
18:00 – 20:00 Uhr, Raum FoE
FROM WASP WINGS TO SEX DREAMS:
CLASSIFICATION IN THE WORK OF ALFRED KINSEY
Abstract
This paper examines the development of and patterns in Kinsey’s research from his earliest
work on gall wasps in the late 1910s through his Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and
his final major collaborative work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). The linkage
between his earliest work and his latest work is his focus on methods of mass-data gathering,
classification of that data, and the knowledge that classification can generate. Kinsey’s
systematic classification of insect data gave rise to new species in the genus Cynips and the rethinking and re-ordering of existing species. His systematic classification of human sexual
behavior data—up to 521 data points per interviewee, with often more information
handwritten on each of the 18,000 sex history data forms—led to the publication of the most
influential texts on human sexuality in the twentieth century. His classification of sexual
behavior data led to the creation of the 0–6 (heterosexuality–homosexuality) scale, became a
source of identification and community for gay and lesbian rights activists, became a source for
changes in sex offender laws, and debunked the myth of the vaginal orgasm, among many other
effects. Kinsey’s ability to classify masses of data with great precision was the foundation of his
lifelong scientific practice. Historicizing Kinsey’s collection practices and management and
scientific knowledge production shows the epistemic webs that link them together and reveals
the historical processes of structural changes in these scientific systems of knowledge.
Zur Referentin
Gastprofessorin am Graduiertenkolleg Topologie der Technik an der TU Darmstadt (zuvor als
Post-Doc-Stipendiatin); BA in Geschichte und politische Wissenschaften (1997, Colorado
College), MA in Geschichte (2003, Colorado College), PhD in Geschichte (2008, Indiana
University), danach mehrere Gastprofessuren in den USA.
Forschungsschwerpunkte: Technik- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Geschlecht- und
Sexualitätsgeschichte
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