The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality

The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality (1976) stands as one of the most influential—and most fiercely contested—works in the history of feminist scholarship and sex research. Drawing on more than 3,000 anonymous survey responses from women across the United States, Shere Hite sought to create a portrait of women’s sexual experiences told not through medical instruments or male-centered theory, but through women’s own words. The result was a groundbreaking, deeply human document that challenged nearly every prevailing assumption about female sexuality.

Hite’s central findings were nothing short of revolutionary for the era. She revealed that most women experienced orgasm primarily through clitoral stimulation, not through vaginal intercourse—upending Freudian doctrine and the widespread cultural belief that “normal” female pleasure should mirror male sexuality. She also exposed profound emotional and sexual dissatisfaction among many women in heterosexual relationships, showing how social conditioning often discouraged women from expressing desire, pursuing pleasure, or advocating for their needs. By presenting raw, honest testimonies, Hite emphasized that female sexuality is diverse, autonomous, and shaped by social context—not reducible to biological determinism or patriarchal expectations.

But the report’s popularity—millions of copies sold worldwide—brought with it an equally powerful backlash. Playboy dubbed it "The Hate Report," and men, rather than listening to what women were saying, reacted with anger and vitriol. Hite was relentlessly attacked in the media, often dismissed not on the basis of her methodology but through personal ridicule, misogyny, and efforts to delegitimize the women who responded to her surveys. Critics who felt threatened by her findings accused her of male-bashing, questioned the validity of anonymous questionnaires, and sought to portray her work as ideological rather than scientific. The ferocity of the response revealed precisely the cultural discomfort Hite had documented: society was not ready to hear women speak openly about sex, dissatisfaction, or autonomy.

The hostility escalated over the years, especially after her later reports on male sexuality and relationships. Feeling hounded by the press and marginalized within American academic and public life, Hite made the wrenching decision to leave the United States in the 1990s. She relocated to Europe, where her work was taken more seriously and where she lived for the remainder of her life.

Shere Hite passed away in 2020, a loss that prompted renewed recognition of her contributions and the courage it took to publish research that challenged entrenched norms. Today, The Hite Report remains a seminal text—an empathetic, unfiltered exploration of women’s erotic lives and the cultural forces that shape them, as well as a reminder of the personal cost often borne by those who dare to speak uncomfortable truths.

In 2024, we released Shere Hite's The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality in audio, 48 years after its original publication. Sadly, it is as relevant today as it was in the 1970s. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

We wanted people to hear the diversity of women who responded to Hite's questionnaires, so we employed a large female cast who then added their characterization skills to create a wide variety of voices. Our cast includes Karissa Vacker, who voices Shere Hite, and, in alphabetical order, Lisa Bunting, Reese Cowley, Janina Edwards, Dawn Harvey, Heather Henderson, Kitty Hendrix, Greta Jung, Emily Lawrence, Robin Miles, & Soneela Nankani.