The Hite Report

I read this book in the early 1980's and found it quite interesting and revealing. The thousands of women that responded to Hite's anonymous questionnaires seemed willing to open up, and both men and women can learn from what they had to say. Hite's finding that only 30 percent of women climax during intercourse should encourage couples to communicate. She also mixes long responses with one-phrase answers, and the result is often revealing and occasionally tiltillating. Critics say that Hite lacked a perfect scientific sample, but one suspects her respondents were more honest than those who participate in face-to-face interviews (Kinsey, etc.). Perhaps most of all this book seems to confirm the emotional and physical appeal of the subject. This book was based on questionnaires answered in the pre-safe sex, pre-cyber porn 1970's, but seem quite relevant today. Ms. Hite left the USA for Germany in the 1990's, apparently due to attacks on her and her work. This is an imperfect book, but worth a look.

I read this book when it first came out in 1976. I was 13 at the time, and boy oh boy did it make a big impression on me. I am so glad I had this book at a young age, so that, growing up, I knew from the get go that I was a normal, healthy girl. This is an amazingly informative book. I have to say that I disagree with the above reviewer in that I do not believe the book and its graphic content were there for simply "shock value", but were actual feelings, of actual women, from all over the United States. The fact that it was so graphic is perhaps an eye opener, but all the contents are presented in a fashion that makes it obvious that this is a serious work and not some sort of sleaze. All heterosexual males should read this book, because there is not a better reference of information regarding womens sexuality to be found. Highly recommended.

This book has received praise from media and institutions all over the world. For example, Reuters has remarked that it 'has left an indelible mark on Western civilization.' Others, including the prestigious Frankfurter Allgemeine, have called it 'legendary'. The London Times has listed it as one of the top one hundred key books of the twentieth century. It received the distinguished service award from America's largest organization of sex researchers and counselors, AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists).Why? Because it was the first and still in many ways is the only book to 'make the case' for the beauty and pleasure of clitoral stimulation for female orgasm. It galvanized and helped create a cultural revolution, documenting in women's own voices and with statistics (based on its own independent sample of over 3,000 women of all ages and walks of life) that almost all women can orgasm easily and efficiently with clitoral or exterior stimulation of the vulva -- and going on to question why this is not considered a 'normal part of sex'? Why is there no word for this, i.e., why is this 'act' never shown in films or pornography (where the focus is almost always on coitus, bondage or fellatio)? Yes, this is a feminist analysis of 'sex', stating (it was the first to do so) that our definition of sex is a cultural and historical phenomenon, not simply a 'biological inevitability.' Read this book if you want to understand anything about female sexuality.