If you study the history of sexual research, you’re likely to see certain names mentioned again and again, such as Sigmund Freud, Alfred Kinsey, and William Masters. The contributions of these men were undoubtedly fundamental. They offered new theories and ideas about human sexuality and helped open up discussions about a topic that was rarely discussed at the time. However, something we rarely hear about in the history books are the women and people of color who were very influential in the field of sexology. Their contributions did not always receive the same recognition.
Over the coming weeks and months, Sex and Psychology will highlight some of the “hidden figures” in sex research that you may not have heard or known much about. To begin, tHis blog highlights the life and work of Shere Hite, a sexologist who surveyed over 3,000 women about sex and masturbation in the 1970s. We will review Hite’s biography, her book The Hite Report, and the significance of her contribution to sex research.
Who is Shere Hite?
Hite is originally from Missouri, but landed in Manhattan in 1967 to pursue his doctorate at Columbia in social history. While in New York, Hite immersed herself in women’s activist circles, specifically the National Organization for Women, and took various freelance modeling jobs to make ends meet (these jobs later became a point of criticism against Hite and her studies, with people arguing that no serious academic could or should pose nude for outlets like Idle).
As part of her research, Hite undertook a nationwide study of female sexuality to debunk myths about the female orgasm and focus on what women “really think, feel, and experience” (Hite, 2004, p. 11 ). Masters and Johnson had just published their original book describing a four-stage human sexual response cycle in 1966, which claimed that thrusting during penetrative intercourse should provide enough clitoral stimulation for women to orgasm. Hite, along with other sexologists such as Elisabeth Lloyd, subsequently challenged the idea that (a) there was a difference between vaginal and clitoral orgasm, and that (b) women who could not reach orgasm from penetrative intercourse were sexually dysfunctional.
The Hite Report details the research findings of Hite, which is one of the best-selling non-fiction books of all time (excluding textbooks and religious texts), with over 50 million copies sold. Clearly, the book was a sensation, and Hite made several media appearances when the book was released. The Hite ReportHowever, it was heavily criticized to the point that Heitt eventually renounced her United States citizenship and moved to Germany. It is important to note that this criticism was heavily influenced by social views that viewed women’s sexual freedom and expression negatively, and instead dismissed Hite’s work as an act of “radical feminism”.
The Hite Report
The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality First published in 1976, it contains data from four rounds of open-ended questionnaires that were physically completed and mailed back to Hite, which she analyzed. The questions covered everything from masturbation to orgasms, penetration sex to sexual revolution!
Survey and Sampling Method
Because the majority of research is now done online, it can be hard to imagine distributing 100,000 paper surveys, but that’s exactly what Hite did! It used a wide range of distribution methods and received over 3,000 responses (3,019 to be exact) from women across the United States. She distributed the survey through national mailings to women’s groups and printed notices in various magazines so that readers could mail in their responses. Responses included participants from 49 states and several countries outside the US, including Singapore and Germany.
The Questionnaires
All four questionnaires contained completely open-ended questions that asked the women to answer in as much detail as possible. This research design method allowed participants to reflect on their experiences and provide Hite with rich information about their sex lives. Participants responded because they wanted to “help add to our collective knowledge of ourselves” (p. 40*), for “cheap therapy” (p. 41), and because they were “sick of all the lies being printed about the sexuality of of women – especially that of lesbians’ (p. 43), as just a few examples. Some participants also described how answering the survey itself was a form of sexual exploration and empowerment. Others found it more of a chore, but completed it for the sake of a more accurate portrayal of women’s experiences in sex research.
Because the data were all qualitative in nature, all responses had to be processed and analyzed manually. Hite described this process as follows:
“First, a large chart was made for each question asked… The many days required to copy the 1844 answers to each question were very valuable indeed as they provided extensive time for reflection on the answers. Once the charts were prepared, it was a relatively simple, if again time-consuming, process to categorize the responses. Usually the patterns had started to stand out during the copying process, so that the categories were more or less formed. Data were prepared by adding up the number of women in each category, after which representative extracts were selected. This procedure was followed for each of the 50 questions.’ (p. 45)
In reading this analytical process, it appears that it is unlike the many forms of thematic analysis that are widely popular among researchers today. At the time, however, this process was strongly criticized for its qualitative and “subjective” nature.
If you are interested, you can view a version of the questionnaire online at Hite Research Foundation website.
Results from The Hite Report
Two of the most important areas of research for Hite were that of masturbation and the experience of orgasm for women. Regarding masturbation, Hite found that almost all of the participants had initially been raised with the idea that masturbation was dirty. over time, however, participants found it to be “a beautiful satisfaction of your body’s needs and pleasures” (p. 66). Hite also identified six main types of masturbation that women engaged in and described them in detail. The sheer number of quotes from the participants revealed an incredible range of preferred methods of female self-pleasure that had nothing to do with penetrative intercourse.
In terms of orgasm, Hite found that women felt under a lot of pressure to orgasm during penetrative intercourse. However, with sex often ending at the point of the man’s orgasm, women were often left aroused but unsatisfied, especially when this became the norm in a relationship. Hite explains that “the right to orgasm has become a political issue for women” (p. 111) when there is such a difference in orgasmic experiences between men and women during sex. In addition, Hite realized that the long-standing distinction between vaginal and clitoral orgasm was incorrect, finding that most women experience orgasm as a result of clitoral stimulation.
Implications for sexuality research
Hite’s findings directly challenged those of Masters and Johnson—women who do not orgasm through penetrative intercourse are not sexually dysfunctional. Rather, the lack of orgasms women experience is due to a society that fails to recognize women’s sexuality and misunderstands how women experience pleasure. Hite’s approach to sex research introduced the role of culture and society in how individuals experience sex, particularly the way in which “the reproductive model of sex exploits women” (p. 305). He concludes that “because sex is a historically and culturally constructed institution—not strictly a matter of biology and engineering—the definition of gender can and indeed must change” (p. 12).
The disappearance of Shere Hite
Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning documentary producer and director Nicole Newnam premiered recently The disappearance of Shere Hite, a documentary about Hite’s life and research. The film portrays Hite (voiced by Dakota Johnson) and interviews people who were close to Hite while she was a student at Columbia, conducting her research and experiencing the fame that came along with his popularity The Hite Report. This documentary is a great way to learn more about Hite and you can watch the movie trailer here. We also had a chance to speak with Newnham on the podcast, so be sure to check out our chats with her for Shere Hite and for making this documentary.
Overall, Shere Hite is an under-recognized game changer in the field of sexology despite the popularity of her book (note that she published several, but we focused on the original because it was the most influential). Her work has drastically changed the way many perceive sex: from that of a purely biological process to something heavily influenced by cultural and social norms. She was an ardent supporter of a sexual revolution that honored female pleasure, and her approach to research constantly reminds us of the necessity of advancing the experiences of individuals.
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*All page numbers are from the 2004 printing The Hite Report.
Image credit: Bernard Gotfryd and Bettye Lane Photographs. collage made with Canva
