The Kinsey scale rates mainly based on how incidental or not your attractions are to each gender. So, if you're a 5, it means you're "incidentally" attracted to the opposite sex, but mostly to the same sex, and so on and so forth. Most of you know this already. Now, my question to you is, what do you consider "incidentally" to be? Is it like no more than a certain number of times a year? Is it like only feeling it in a certain situation, like being drunk or really tired? What does "incidentally" mean to you?
Kinsey scale = rubbish. Sorry, I had to say it. But to me, incidentally would probably be "not likely". So not a specific number, but if you meet only one boy every once in a while (which I suppose could also be clarified) that you were interested in... That'd most likely be incidental. King x
Incidental means the attraction is only really there in that particular incident. You can see someone and realise you are attracted to them, but once you are no longer in their presence they aren't in really in your mind. Stronger attraction would be one where you intentionally desire it, seek it out and can imagine or fantasise about it. Frequency or the number of times you've been attracted to a certain gender isn't really what the scale is getting at.
Incidental means infrequent, I think. Maybe once or twice in a lifetime, I'd say. And what, pray tell, is rubbish about it?
I actually agree, even though I use it in my profile. I think it is useful, but it's usefulness is very limited. When you're just using if for yourself I think it's a waste. You're attracted to some people, and you're not attracted to others, why label it? If you do need to label it for other people, then in most circumstances you would use gay, straight, or bi. One of the only times people would understand want you even meant is if you're talking to an LGBT community, which isn't the most common occurrence. The other reason is it doesn't take into account a lot of things. It only looks at sexual attraction, not at emotional at all. What if you're transgendered? What if you're pansexual? Overall if you just look at the questions he asks, I feel like it ignores a lot of factors.
Strictly speaking, the original Kinsey scale was not a measure of attraction, but experience. People rated themselves based on their history of sex partners.
Because if you want to convey that you are attracted to men and women, but with a ratio of attraction leaning towards one or the other, it allows you to roughly quantify that so other people know what you're looking for in your relationships. The only fault I find with it is that 0-7 is a ridiculous range, and something like 0-10 might've made more sense. Transgenderism is something that I think could benefit a *lot* from a similar scale. Because there is no 'kinsey scale' for gender, people are more likely to think of it as dichotomous. It would actually be very convenient to be able to say "I'm genderqueer, leaning cis" and put a number on it like gender - 2 or 2.5 or whatever. There is this idea that transsexuals must conform to stereotypical behaviors of the gender they're taking on, when in reality they might be like... the gender equivalent of a kinsey 4.5
If it was based on sexual history then people who have never had any sexual experience couldn't place themselves on the scale. I actually did a research paper on the Kinsey Scale and I learned a lot, but while I was questioning, the scale was useless. Which left me even more confused =/
