Human Sexual Response
Human Sexual Response is a landmark study in the field of human sexuality, authored by William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson. This work fundamentally transformed the understanding of sexual behavior and physiology by observing over six hundred volunteers engaged in various sexual activities in laboratory settings. The book provides a detailed examination of both male and female sexual responses, covering specific anatomical components and the physiological patterns of the sexual response cycle. Notably, it dispelled myths about aging and sexual activity, showing that older individuals can maintain normal sexual functioning.
The findings not only enriched the knowledge of medical professionals, aiding in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, but also encouraged open discussions about sex within society. The work, which gained widespread popularity and became a national best-seller, laid the groundwork for subsequent sex therapy practices and a generation of self-help resources. Additionally, Masters and Johnson's emphasis on the mechanics of sex contributed to the sexual experimentation and cultural shifts of the 1960s. Overall, Human Sexual Response served as a pivotal reference in the evolution of sexual understanding, fostering a more informed and open dialogue regarding human sexuality.
Human Sexual Response
Published 1966
Authors William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson
A scholarly book that became a national best-seller in 1966. The authors were professionals who provided the first detailed descriptions of bodily physiology before, after, and during the sexual act.
The Work
Alfred Kinsey had completed and published two volumes of research concerning the attitudes of Americans toward sex and issues related to sex, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). These books were widely quoted, frequently stolen from libraries, and banned in many communities. Their popularity demonstrated a desire among many individuals and groups to discuss openly issues relating to sex, a subject that was simply not discussed in polite company. Human sexuality was poorly understood by both the general public and the medical community, which could diagnose diseases but lacked information on sexual disorders.
William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson’s seminal work, Human Sexual Response, directly examined the subject of human sexuality. Masters was a practicing physician and Johnson was trained as a nurse. For several years, they gathered data for the book by observing more than six hundred volunteers age eighteen to eighty-nine engaged in various sexual acts in laboratory conditions rather than by interviewing people, as Kinsey had done.
In their book, Masters and Johnson documented the physiology of sex in great detail. They provided a broad, detailed view of the female sexual response, with chapters on the clitoris, vagina, uterus, and female orgasm, and of the male sexual response, examining in turn the penis, scrotum, and male orgasm. The book, meant for practicing professionals, was well-written but scholarly and somewhat dry. To the amazement of most social critics and the book’s publishers and authors, Human Sexual Response became a national best-seller.
Masters and Johnson were largely responsible for destroying the myth that sexual activity had to cease with advancing age. They published data demonstrating that older people were physiologically capable of normal sexual functioning. They also demonstrated that the sexual response was similar in men and women. The book provided measurements of the physiological patterns in the sexual response cycle.
Impact
Masters and Johnson’s findings enabled medical and therapeutic professionals to better treat sexual dysfunctions and helped the general public have open discussions about sex by providing factual information that made these conversations more socially acceptable. In addition, they fostered an entire generation of self-help books, videos, and seminars by making sex therapy a legitimate mode of therapy.
Masters and Johnson also probably contributed to the sexual experimentation of the late 1960’s and the subsequent decade by focusing their studies on the mechanics of sex rather than its social aspects. The 1960’s were a time of unheralded revolution and experimentation during which traditional sexual mores were first questioned and then challenged. However, much of the information regarding interpersonal and sexual relationships was flawed. Kinsey’s pioneering work concerning the attitudes of adult Americans toward sex and sexuality in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s reflected the dominant beliefs and cultural standards that had been widely held for decades.
Related Works
Subsequent research conducted by Masters and Johnson was published as Human Sexual Inadequacy (1970) and Masters and Johnson on Sex and Human Loving (1986). The public’s heightened interest in human sexuality is reflected in the popularity of works such as Alex Comfort’s The Joy of Sex (1974).
Additional Information
An Analysis of “Human Sexual Response” (1966), edited by Ruth Brecher and Edward Brecher, provides a look at the Masters and Johnson work. The effect of their work on sex research and study is described in Paul Robinson’s The Modernization of Sex: Havelock Ellis, Alfred Kinsey, William Masters, and Virginia Johnson (1988).