'Kinsey' critics ready

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America's sexual revolution is about to heat up again as abstinence supporters plan protests at theaters this fall when a new movie about famed 1950s sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey is released.

"Kinsey did a lot more damage to our country than we even have an idea of," said Leslee Unruh, president of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, a Sioux Falls, S.D., organization that advocates sexual abstinence until marriage.

Abstinence supporters are going to stand at theaters and pass out booklets called "Casualties of Kinsey," which contain stories about how Kinsey's research negatively impacted their lives, she said.

"I am shocked at what I am hearing," Mrs. Unruh said, referring to stories of sexually transmitted diseases, child pornography and sexual addiction that have been collected for the booklet.

Other observers are hoping that "Kinsey," which stars Liam Neeson as the late zoologist-turned-sexpert, will rekindle interest in sex research.

"We hope to use the movie -- and the [Kinsey] documentary that comes out in February on PBS -- as an opportunity to inform people about sex research today," said Jennifer Bass, spokeswoman for the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Although "Kinsey" is not expected to be entirely factual, she said, "we hope it will spark an interest in sex research today and encourage people to find out more about the Kinsey Institute."

"We also expect to clarify any issues about Alfred Kinsey's research," Ms. Bass added.

Dramatically different portraits of Kinsey have emerged since he burst onto the American scene more than 50 years ago.

Initially, Kinsey was depicted as a diligent scientist and devoted family man who applied his prodigious skills in studying the gall wasp to the unexplored world of human sexuality.