Wardell Baxter Pomeroy (December 6, 1913 – September 6, 2001) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

. He was a frequent co-author with

Alfred C. Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, ...

Biography

Pomeroy was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, the son of Percy W. and Mary A. Pomeroy. He graduated from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

(BA, 1935; MA, 1942) and earned a Ph.D. in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

in 1954 from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. While working as a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

in an Indiana state hospital, he met Kinsey and came to work on his seminal sex-research project. Pomeroy personally recorded approximately 6,000 sexual histories. He was co-author with Kinsey on the landmark books ''

Sexual Behavior in the Human Male The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and (for ''Sexual Behavi ...

'' (1948) and ''

Sexual Behavior in the Human Female The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and (for ''Sexual Behav ...

'' (1953). He went into the private practice of sex therapy in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1963 and wrote books about adolescent sexuality for popular consumption. In 1976, he became dean of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality and an adjunct professor at California Medical School and

California State University at Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it h ...

. Pomeroy retired due to declining health in 1983 and died in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

Lewy body dementia Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia—dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The two conditions have sim ...

. Pomeroy was portrayed in the 2004 theatrical film '' Kinsey'' by

Chris O'Donnell Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He played Charlie Sims in '' Scent of a Woman'', Chris Reece in ''School Ties'', D'Artagnan in ''The Three Musketeers'', Jack Foley in the drama film '' C ...

Bibliography

*A.C. Kinsey, W.B. Pomeroy, C.E. Martin, ''

'', (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders, 1948). . *A.C. Kinsey, W.B. Pomeroy, C.E. Martin, P.H. Gebhard, ''

'', (Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders, 1953). . *''Boys and Sex'' (New York: Delacorte, 1968) *''Girls and Sex'' (New York: Delacorte, 1970) *''Dr. Kinsey and the Institute for Sex Research'' (New York: Harper and Row, 1972) *''Your Child and Sex: A Guide for Parents'' (New York: Delacorte, 1974)

Reception

Pomeroy's ''Boys and Sex'' and ''Girls and Sex'' books have frequently been banned or challenged. Both books landed on the American Library Association's list of most frequently banned and challenged books from 1990 to 1999. ''Boys and Sex'' landed the 61st position, and ''Girls and Sex'' landed the 98th position.

References

* "In Memoriam: Wardell B. Pomeroy," Archives of Sexual Behavior 31(2): 155–156 (2002). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy, Wardell 1913 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American psychologists American sexologists Deaths from Lewy body dementia Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality faculty Deaths from dementia in Indiana American sex educators Indiana University Bloomington alumni