What does a sexual revolutionary look like? Our theory that sexual revolutionaries come in all shapes, sizes and ages was reinforced when we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Vern Bullough in our offices on Halloween day.
“I became interested in sex at an early age” Vern told us as five staff members from The Sinclair Institute sat in a small conference room listening to Vern relate stories of a life spent as a sexual revolutionary and historian. Vern, accompanied by his wife Gwen, sits with his back to the large window as this Halloween day slowly fades to black behind him. Vern and Gwen are in their seventies.
“I became interested in sex at an early age, but not in the way you think,” Vern begins.
Vern explains that it was meeting his first wife that got Vern interested in studying sex. It seems that Vern’s first wife’s mother was a lesbian whose partner, Berry Berryman, spent time in the 1920’s interviewing her lesbian and gay friends in Salt Lake City. Berryman supported Vern’s efforts in the 1950’s researching gay and lesbian culture and attitudes.
Vern was well on his way to becoming a medical historian, he received his Ph.D. in the History of Medicine, when his encounter with Berryman convinced him to specialize in the history of sex, sexual practices and taboos, and the diverse groups of "sex workers."
He became a professor at several universities including SUNY Buffalo, University of Southern California (USC) and Cal State at Northridge. Vern wrote over 50 books and articles, including Sexual Attitudes: Myths & Realities, Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia, and Frontiers of Sex Research.
In 1957 the Wolfenden Report, a landmark document, was a 1957 British government study officially entitled the Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution. IT recommended that homosexual behavior between consenting adults in private no longer be criminalized in Britain.
After his work with Berryman, Vern was inspired to publish an article, which later turned into a book dealing specifically with part of the Wolfenden report’s subject: prostitution. Vern’s life path was determined. He would be a sexual revolutionary, a Sexual Historian.
One of the most revolutionary things Vern did was founding the Center for Sex Research at Cal State University, Northridge in the 1970’s. The Center for Sex research is one of the first academic institutions of its kind. It is an interdisciplinary center of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences sponsoring seminars and conferences on topics of interest to a wide range of sexuality research. The Center for Sex Research has even been called “Kinsey West” referring to Kinsey Institute founded by Alfred Kinsey at the University of Indiana.
Our brief conversation with Vern confirmed our idea – sexual revolutionaries come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Vern Bullough has helped people understand sexuality. His book Science in the Bedroom was published in 1994. If you would like to know more about Dr. Vern Bullough click on the links below. If you have a favorite sexual revolutionary we should profile please email us at: info@bettersexrevolution.com
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