If biologists so often forget the most universal of all biologic principles [variation], it is not surprising that men and women in general expect their fellows to think and behave according to the pattern that may fit the law-maker, or the imaginary ideals for which the legislation was fashioned, but which are ill-shaped for all real individuals who try to live under them.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the importance of recognizing individual differences in behavior and thought, as laws and norms often fail to account for human variation.
Alfred Kinsey's quote reflects on the tendency of people, including lawmakers, to impose rigid standards that are not suitable for the diverse nature of individuals. It suggests that while biologists acknowledge variation in species, this principle is often overlooked in societal norms and legislation, which assume a uniformity that disregards the complexities of human behavior and identity. As a result, individuals may feel constrained by expectations that do not accommodate their unique characteristics and experiences.
In practice
This quote could be used in a lecture about the importance of inclusivity in legislation.
The very general occurrence of the homosexual in ancient Greece, and its wide occurrence today in some cultures in which such activity is not taboo suggests that the capacity of an individual to respond erotically to any sort of stimulus, whether it is provided by another person of the same or opposite sex, is basic in the species.
The range of variation in the female far exceeds the range of variation in the male.
The only unnatural sex act is that which you cannot perform.
Few males achieve any real freedom in their sexual relations even with their wives. Few males realise how badly inhibited they are on these matters.
The heterosexuality or homosexuality of many individuals is not an all-or-none proposition.
If all persons with any trace of homosexual history, or those who were predominantly homosexual, were eliminated from the population today, there is no reason for believing that the incidence of the homosexual in the next generation would be materially reduced. The homosexual has been a significant part of human sexual activity since the dawn of history, primarily because it is an expression of capacities that are basic in the human animal.
Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later, it always come around to where you started again.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
In a free society, government has the responsibility of protecting us from others, but not from ourselves.
I believe in life and in people. I feel obliged to advocate their highest ideals as long as I believe them to be true. I also see myself compelled to revolt against ideals I believe to be false, since recoiling from rebellion would be a form of treason
Naming our murder weapons after victims of our crimes: Apache, Tomahawk... It's as if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes 'Jew' and 'Gypsy.'
We human beings build houses because we're alive but we write books because we're mortal. We live in groups because we're sociable but we read because we know we're alone. Reading offers a kind of companionship that takes no one's place but that no one can replace either. It offers no definitive explanation of our destiny but links us inextricably to life. Its tiny secret links remind us of how paradoxically happy we are to be alive while illuminating how tragically absurd life is.
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