“The Kinsey Scale often helps individuals who have only ever seen the two extremes of the scale realize that it is not only possible, but also normal to identify as somewhere in the middle of the scale,” Shane explains, adding that it can also be a helpful tool when explaining your identity to a loved one. Kryss Shane, PhD, LSW, LMSW, an adjunct professor and lecturer at the University of Massachusetts, Fordham University, and Columbia University. ( Editor’s note: The most updated version of the GLAAD Media Reference Guide recommends publications avoid the word “homosexual,” but to describe the Kinsey Scale as accurately as possible, WH felt it necessary to replicate the exact language used in the scale at certain times in this piece.)Īt the time, the scale was groundbreaking, and today, it’s still a tool that helps many people realize they might not be “zeroes” or “sixes,” says leading LGBTQ+ expert Dr.
Kinsey suggested that some individuals might be “exclusively heterosexual” (or a zero on the scale), and others might be “exclusively homosexual” (a six on the scale), but many people fit somewhere between the two numbers. The scale was created by biologist Alfred Kinsey in 1948. Chances are, it’s the one you’re most familiar with, too. There are tons of ways to discover and explore the many hues (so to speak) that exist under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, but one of the earliest metrics popularized was the Kinsey Scale.
Thanks to decades of activism, research, and LGBTQ+ individuals sharing their own lived experiences, it’s become common knowledge that sexuality is a spectrum-or, in other words, less black or white and a little more like a rainbow with infinite shades.
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