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.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the naturalness of diverse sexual orientations across cultures and history.
Alfred Kinsey's quote emphasizes that the capacity for erotic attraction can be directed towards individuals of either sex, which is a fundamental aspect of human nature. By referencing both ancient Greece and contemporary cultures, Kinsey suggests that sexual orientation is not merely a modern phenomenon or a taboo but an intrinsic part of human diversity that has always existed.
In practice
In a discussion about LGBTQ+ history during a panel.
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.
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.
My heart was broken and my head was just barely inhabitable
The baby explodes into an unknown world that is only knowable through some kind of a story – of course that is how we all live, it’s the narrative of our lives, but adoption drops you into the story after it has started. It’s like reading a book with the first few pages missing. It’s like arriving after curtain up. The feeling that something is missing never, ever leaves you – and it can’t, and it shouldn’t, because something is missing.
Nah, I've always had a great relationship with my two brothers, I have always had their support in my football and in everything. They've been very close to me and we have a great relationship.
The trouble is, I can't find a part of myself where you're not important. I write in order to be worth your while and to finance the way I want to live with you. Not the way you want to live. The way I want to live with you. Without you I wouldn't care. I'd eat tinned spaghetti and put on yesterday's clothes. But as it is I change my socks, and make money, and tart up Brodie's unspeakable drivel into speakable drivel so he can be an author too, like me.
... there are four women in every man’s heart. The Maid in the Meadow, the Demon Lover, the Stouthearted Woman, the Tall and Quiet Woman.
Her grief grieved her. His devastated her.
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