Scales of sexual orientation are classification schemes of different sexual orientations. Definitions of the term sexual orientation normally include two components: the "psychological" and the "behavioral" component, but definitions of the two components vary between researchers and across time. Those difficulties motivate researchers to define scales to measure and describe sexual orientation. Most sexual behavior and sexual orientation scales are motivated by the view that sexual orientation is a continuum. The Kinsey scale works from a continuum viewpoint and is the most prevalent sexual orientation scale.
Kinsey scale
The Kinsey scale (also Kinsey homosexual-heterosexual scale) was first presented by Alfred Kinsey in his two influential books Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behaviour in the Human Female (1953). The two books are often referred to as "the Kinsey Reports". The scale was used to classify and quantify homosexual and heterosexual behaviour across the American population. It assesses both overt sexual behaviour as well as sexual fantasies.
Categories
Kinsey used seven categories (0–6) to classify sexual orientation as a continuum plus an additional category labeled X (no socio-sexual contacts or reactions). Equal intervals were assumed between the single categories, except for X. The measurement for sexual behaviour was relative to the subject's full number of sexual encounters, rather than an absolute number of sexual encounters with the same sex.
Testing method
Subject sexual orientation was assessed in a structured personal interview. This interview included around 300-500 questions. Depending on the subject's answers there could be a different order and number of questions. The wording was also not rigidly fixed, but could be adapted to e.g. the subject's level of education. In the interview, it was assumed that participants had tried different kinds of sexual acts, until explicitly negated.
Evaluation
The Kinsey Reports and the developed scale had a big impact on the perception of human sexuality in general and homosexuality and bisexuality in particular. Before Kinsey, sexual orientation was conceptualized as only three categories: homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual, and homosexual contacts were regarded as rather rare. In his reports Kinsey showed the big variance in sexual orientation in the American population and claimed that homosexual encounters and fantasies were much more common than previously believed.
However, the Kinsey scale also has some shortcomings. The assessment involves the subjective rating of the interviewer. This can have various consequences. Depending on the behaviour and reactions of the interviewer, subjects may or not be willing to disclose their full sexual history. It is also the interviewer who has to define whether the subjects gave honest answers or when to ask further questions. A small number of trained researchers were able to get an insight into sexual behaviour in the American population using the scale, but comparing different studies using the Kinsey scale becomes difficult. Sell finds three shortcomings of the Kinsey scale:
A single number represents the multidimensional phenomenon of sexual orientation
Individuals with very different sexual histories and frequencies of sexual contact with the same or opposite sex would be classified with the same number Homosexuality and heterosexuality are conceptualized as two ends of the same spectrum. Sell argues to think of both as two different dimensions.
Kinsey acknowledged that sexual orientation is more than sexual attraction or behaviour alone. By evaluating sexual behaviour and fantasy, his scale already took into account more than one dimension, although combined to a single measure, but did not take into account other aspects such as varying sexual orientation during life or emotional preference.
Hansen and Charles criticized that while the scale is successful in categorizing people at both ends of the continuum (exclusively homosexual/heterosexual) its categorization of bisexuals is driven by a negative definition of bisexuality. Bisexuality should be considered a discrete entity not an intermediate step between homosexuality and heterosexuality.
Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG)
The Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG) was proposed by Fritz Klein as an alternative to the Kinsey Scale. It was first explained in Forum magazine, in which Klein described the scale and asked readers to fill out the given grid and send him their answers.
