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| Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality | |
|---|---|
| Name | Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality |
| Founded | 1950s |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Fields | Sexuality research, psychology, sociology, public health |
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality is a scholarly organization focused on empirical research and interdisciplinary inquiry into human sexual behavior, sexual health, sexual orientation, and sexual relationships. It brings together scholars, clinicians, educators, and policy analysts from fields such as Kinsey's research, Masters and Johnson's work, Freud, Butler, Foucault, and Money-influenced traditions to advance evidence-based understanding of sexuality. The Society engages with academic institutions, public health agencies, and professional associations to inform practice and policy debates across jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Brazil.
The organization traces origins to mid-20th century developments in sexology shaped by figures such as Alfred Kinsey, William Masters, Virginia Johnson, Havelock Ellis, Magnus Hirschfeld, and institutions like the Kinsey Institute, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Harvard University, and University of California, San Francisco. Early conferences and publications connected researchers influenced by Sigmund Freud, Erving Goffman, Herbert Marcuse, and Michel Foucault debates on sexuality. Over decades the Society responded to public controversies involving Larry Kramer, AIDS crisis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and legal shifts such as Obergefell v. Hodges while engaging with scholarly movements associated with Queer theory, Feminist theory, Critical race theory, and the work of scholars like Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Gayle Rubin, and Patricia Hill Collins.
The Society's mission emphasizes rigorous empirical research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and translation of findings for policy and practice, aligning with values promoted by organizations such as American Psychological Association, World Health Organization, American Public Health Association, National Institutes of Health, and UNICEF. Goals include promoting ethical standards informed by precedents like Belmont Report, fostering methods inspired by Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of science, supporting replication practices advocated by Open Science Framework proponents, and advancing diversity and inclusion consistent with declarations from United Nations human rights instruments and Yogyakarta Principles.
Membership comprises researchers, clinicians, educators, and students affiliated with universities, hospitals, and NGOs such as Kinsey Institute, Planned Parenthood, Guttmacher Institute, American Medical Association, and World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Governance typically involves an elected board, committees, and bylaws modeled after practices from organizations like American Sociological Association, American Psychological Association, and Royal Society. Leadership roles have intersected with careers of scholars linked to University of Toronto, University of Michigan, Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Minnesota, and have collaborated with policy bodies including National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine.
The Society sponsors peer-reviewed outlets and newsletters that publish work comparable to articles in Journal of Sex Research, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Lancet, American Journal of Public Health, and interdisciplinary collections resembling volumes from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Contributions range from quantitative studies using methods popularized by Ronald Fisher, Jerome Karle, and Karl Pearson to qualitative analyses drawing on Clifford Geertz and Pierre Bourdieu. Editorial boards have included scholars with affiliations to University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, and London School of Economics.
Annual meetings convene researchers and practitioners in formats akin to conferences held by American Sociological Association, Society for Neuroscience, American Public Health Association, and International AIDS Conference, featuring plenaries, symposia, and poster sessions. Venues have ranged across cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Sydney, and Berlin. Program themes have engaged with topics prominent in forums run by UN Women, Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Guttmacher Institute.
The Society confers awards for scholarly achievement, lifetime contributions, early career research, and public service, analogous to distinctions presented by American Psychological Association, American Sociological Association, National Institutes of Health, and Royal Society. Awardees have included researchers whose careers intersect with institutions like Kinsey Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and advocacy organizations such as ACLU and Human Rights Watch.
Research programs address sexual health, HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual orientation and identity, transgender health, sexual risk behavior, sex education, consent, and public policy, collaborating with funders and agencies like National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation. Initiatives have connected to community organizations including Planned Parenthood, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center (The Center), GLAAD, The Trevor Project, and Lambda Legal, and have informed policy debates involving courts such as Supreme Court of the United States and international bodies like European Court of Human Rights. Research partnerships have spanned projects with scholars at University College London, McGill University, University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, and University of Cape Town.
Category:Sexology organizations Category:Scientific societies