William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson
William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson were groundbreaking figures in the scientific study of human sexuality, known for their pioneering research on sexual arousal and the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Masters, a medical doctor specializing in gynecology, began his exploration of sexual behavior in the 1950s while teaching at Washington University in St. Louis. Johnson joined him as a research associate and together they utilized innovative methods, including motion pictures and various physiological measuring devices, to analyze sexual responses in men and women. Their influential work culminated in the 1966 publication of *Human Sexual Response*, which detailed the physiological stages of sexual arousal and became a bestseller.
Together, they founded the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation and later the Masters and Johnson Institute, where they counseled couples on sexual issues. Their research, though controversial and criticized for its perceived moral implications, significantly advanced understanding of human sexuality, particularly in women, and contributed to improvements in gynecological medicine. They addressed a variety of sexual health topics, including impotence and sexual orientation, and published numerous books throughout their careers. Despite their eventual divorce in 1993, they maintained a collaborative relationship, influencing both academic and popular discourse on sexuality. Their legacy was further popularized through the Showtime series *Masters of Sex*, which dramatized their lives and contributions to the field.
William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson
- WILLIAM H. MASTERS
- VIRGINIA E. JOHNSON
- TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Emotion, sensation, and perception; social psychology
SIGNIFICANCE: Masters and Johnson were pioneers in the scientific study of sexual arousal and the treatment of sexual problems.
Life
William H. Masters attended public schools in Kansas City and in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. In 1938, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in New York. After receiving his medical degree in gynecology from the University of Rochester in 1943, he began laboratory studies of sexual behavior in 1954 while on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
A precocious child, Virginia E. Johnson was allowed to skip several grades during her public schooling. She studied piano and voice and read extensively. She studied psychology and sociology at Drury College and at the University of Missouri, joining Masters as a research associate in 1957. At that time, scientists knew little about human responses to sexual stimulation. Masters and Johnson used motion pictures, electrocardiograms, polygraph-like instruments, electroencephalograms, and other scientific equipment to record the human body’s physiological responses to sexual stimulations in men and women who volunteered to engage in sexual activity.
In 1964, Masters and Johnson established the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1973, they became codirectors of the Masters and Johnson Institute in St. Louis. Their research stirred up a great deal of controversy. Many critics called them immoral and accused them of dehumanizing sex. However, their work laid a foundation for understanding the physiological aspects of sexuality, particularly in women, and improved gynecology medicine.
In 1966, the results of their research were published in Human Sexual Response, which described the physiological responses during four phases of erotic arousal for males and females. Although written in technical language for physicians and other health scientists, the book became a bestseller. After counseling hundreds of married couples about problems dealing with sexual performance, Masters and Johnson published Human Sexual Inadequacy in 1970. It dealt with the treatment of sexual problems, including impotence, premature ejaculation, and frigidity. It is considered by many experts to be the first comprehensive study of the physiology and anatomy of human sexual activity under laboratory conditions. Masters and Johnson were married in 1971.
Homosexuality in Perspective, a report on the clinical treatment of the sexual problems of gay people, appeared in 1979. Although they received much criticism for their views, Masters and Johnson claimed an ability to change the sexual preference of gay people who wished to change. More controversy was sparked by their 1988 publication of Crisis: Heterosexual Behavior in the Age of AIDS, wherein they forecast an epidemic spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). They claimed that AIDS may spread through contact with everyday objects, sparking fear in the public and perpetuating misinformation amid the AIDS crisis.
After their divorce in 1993, Masters and Johnson continued their research collaboration. They also collaborated with Robert C. Kolodny (b. 1944), another expert in human sexuality, to write fourteen books, including the college textbook Human Sexuality (1982), Biological Foundations of Human Sexuality (1993), and Heterosexuality (1994).
Their primary research remained captivating even decades later. A dramatic Showtime series chronicled the lives and work of Masters and Johnson titled Masters of Sex (2013-2016), which stars Michael Sheen as Masters and Lizzy Caplan as Johnson.
Bibliography
Banner, Linda. “Virginia Johnson: Human Sexuality Pioneer.” Translational Andrology and Urology, vol. 2, no. 4, 2013, pp. 321-3. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2223-4683.2013.09.12. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
Drucker, Donna J. The Machines of Sex Research: Technology and the Politics of Identity, 1945–1985. Springer, 2014.
Fox, Stuart Ira. Human Physiology. 16th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2022.
Mader, Sylvia S. Human Reproductive Biology. 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Maier, Thomas. Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love. Basic, 2009.
Robinson, Paul. The Modernization of Sex. Cornell UP, 1989.
Sherrin, Harry. "Masters and Johnson: Controversial Sexologists of the 1960s." History Hit, 26 Apr. 2022, www.historyhit.com/masters-and-johnson-controversial-sexologists-of-the-1960s. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.