Shere Hite: sex researcher in the 20th century

09/10/2020 About a month ago, Shere Hite died at the age of 77. Shere is famous for her groundbreaking sex research. By those who opposed her (mainly men and Christian women) she was labeled ‘anti-male’. Who was this woman and what was her role in the sexual emancipation of women?

Shere Hite: feminist and sex researcher

Shere Hite was born as Shirley Diana Gregory in Missouri (United States) on November 2, 1942. She studied history in Florida and started her Ph.D. at Columbia University in New York. When it became clear she wasn’t allowed to write her dissertation on female sexuality, she abondoned her study. When she was a student, she posed topless for Playboy and a typewriter brand. When she saw the caption for one of her photos (The typewriter so smart she doesn’t have to be), she joined the group of women who were protesting the advert.

Founder of sexual revolution

Hite stood out to the New York department of the National Organization for Women after protesting against the typewriter advert. During a meeting about the female orgasm and whether or not everyone reaches an orgasm, someone suggested that Shere Hite would start a research project. This lead to The Hite Report.

The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality

Her most groundbreaking work, The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality, was published in 1976. It sold 48 million copies. During her research, she questioned 3,500 women about their sex life. The main conclusion of the research was that most women (70%) don’t reach an orgasm through penetration alone. Furthermore, the participants indicated that it was easier to reach an orgasm during masturbation than penetration. Because the report mainly focussed on sex from the female point of view, the report and Hite were seen as ‘anti-male’ by many men. Playboy even called it ‘The Hate Report’.

Hite: “Researchers should stop telling women what they should feel sexually and start asking them what they do feel sexually.“

Tip: Buy The Hite Report on Amazon Shere Hite is considered the founder of the sexual revolution for women. She put female pleasure first, which was a new perspective at the time. With her research, she also goes against earlier researches by male reseachers such as Kinsey and Masters and Johnson.

Criticism of Hite

Of course there’s also criticism regarding Hite’s books and reports. Conservative Christians view her ideas on sexual pleasure for women as a threat to family life. Because of the massive criticism Hite received, twelve prominent feminists, among whom Gloria Steinem and Barbara Ehrenreich, called the way the media attacked her a ‘conservative response to women’s rights everywhere.’ There were also scientists who criticised Hite. They claimed her samples weren’t representative. For the Women and Love research, hundreds of surveys were send out, of which 4,500 were filled in and returned. The main conclusion of this research is that 95% of the participants felt emotionally and physically abused by their husband. According to The Washington Post this was ‘probably because only unhappy women take the time to answer 127 survey questions’.

Departure to Europe

In 1995, Hite gives up her American citizenship when she and her work are under constant threat. Later she writes: “I asked to have my citizenship revoked in 1995. After a decade of continuous threats regarding me as a person as well as my work, especially my reports about female sexuality, I didn’t feel free to conduct my researches in my country of birth.” She becomes a German citizen and goes to live in Cologne with her German husband, pianist Friedrich Horicke. After her divorce, she moves to London with her new husband. She dies there when she is 77 years old on September 9, 2020.

Also read: Ode to Beate Uhse

To read: works by Shire Hite

All researches were published as books. These are all her works:

• Sexual Honesty, by Women, For Women (1974)
• The Hite Report on Female Sexuality (1976, 1981, published again in 2004)
• The Hite Report on Men and Male Sexuality (1981)
• Women and Love: A Cultural Revolution in Progress (The Hite Report on Love, Passion, and Emotional Violence) (1987)
• Flying with Jupiter (1993)
• The Hite Report on the Family: Growing Up Under Patriarchy (1994)
• The Hite Report on Shere Hite: Voice of a Daughter in Exile (2000) (autobiography)
• The Shere Hite Reader: New and Selected Writings on Sex, Globalization and Private Life (2006)