In memoriam
Vern L.
Bullough, Ph.D., D. Sci, R.N
(July 24, 1928 - June 21,
2006)
Vern Bullough was one of the most prolific sexologists not only of his
time, but of all time. His more than 50 books and over 150 articles dealt with
a very wide variety of subjects, from religious, medical and cultural history
to philosophy, politics, gender and transgender issues, from gay liberation and
the women’s movement to contraception, prostitution and pornography, but also with
practical issues of sex education and nursing. Many of these publications he
wrote together with his late first wife Bonnie, a strong partner with a remarkable
academic career in her own right.
Since we are all familiar with his work, there is no need to go into
details here. Let us simply acknowledge that, to a great extent, it shaped the
development of our field in the last few decades not only in the US, but also
internationally.
In all of his writings Vern stood firmly in the tradition of the Age of
Enlightenment, advocating understanding and tolerance, but, most of all, the
value of reason in solving social and sexual problems. He combined his enormous
erudition and enlightend attitude with a great deal of courage and was never
afraid to tackle controversial subjects. At times, he encountered a great deal
of hostility because of this, and it even made him subject to government surveillance,
but he remained undeterred.
In addition to being an outstanding researcher and teacher, he was also
a visionary. Indeed, he was one of the few sexologists of the older generation who,
very early on, recognized the signifiance and the potential of the electronic
revolution. Thus, he became one of the strongest supporters of our electronic
Archive for Sexology. As the most active member of our scientific advisory
board, he contributed two of his major works to which he personally owned the
copyright – his history of sex research ("Science in the Bedroom”) and his
encyclopedia “Human Sexuality”. Through our web site, he made them freely
available, and he intended them to remain so in the future. Thus, before his
death, he transferred the copyright and the editorship of his enclopedia to me
in the hope that I would keep this part of his legacy alive and online. He
wanted it to be updated and expanded, and I gratefully accepted this
responsibility.
For this reason, I will, in the next few weeks, take the liberty of
asking you, my fellow academy members, to contribute new articles to this
outstanding work and thus to honor the memory of one of our most respected
colleagues.
Actually, his enduring initiative now also offers us the opportunity to
ensure our own continued global presence. Indeed, Vern and Bonnie Bullough’s
encyclopedia has the potential of becoming the supreme standard sexological
reference work for the entire world. Let us contribute to it what we can. Neither
the Bulloughs nor we will ever have as many readers in any other medium.
Erwin J. Haeberle, June 2006
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