The+Hite+Reports

Rebecca Jose ** The Hite Reports ** ** Introduction: **  Female sexuality has changed drastically within the past few decades. As our culture has become more focused on gender equality, our view of sex has also shifted. Beginning in the 1920’s, females started to let go of all chains that were tying them back from being “free”. Starting with the flappers and on, women empowerment was a concept that was desired among all females. As both men and women became more open about sex it self, research on the topic became popular as well. Slowly into the 1950’s, our society had advanced in science and research that sex was a topic of interest.  Masters and Johnson and their research team took this curiosity and explored the anatomy and physiology of human sexual response. They determined that a human sexual response consisted of a cycle of four different physiological stages. As other scholars started to study the topic, criticism was expected. One of those that criticized the work of Masters and Johnson was sex researcher Shere Hite. Hite did not deny the importance of Masters and Johnson’s findings, however she felt there was more that needed to be added. Hite felt that that Masters and Johnson left out the cultural and personal importance of sexuality and had focused too in depth into the biological cycle. She criticized what Masters and Johnson’s defined to be the cause of sole sexual dysfunction. Through constant criticism and study, Hite was able to revolutionize the way females viewed and approached their sexuality in society today.   ** Hite’s Conversion to Feminism: ** During the years of the women’s movement, feminists were stereotyped as “embittered man-haters” but Hite’s conversion into feminism challenged this (Smith, 2006). This conversion took place when Hite was part of a commercial for Olivertti typewriters. Hite thought that she was casted because of her ability to type, but realized while she was getting her hair done that there were other reasons why she was called in. She had been chosen for her looks, and not in a flattering sense since the company's new slogan was "the typewriter that's so smart she doesn't have to be (Smith, 2006)." She refers to this situation as her conversion and said, “i t made me into a feminist (Smith, 2006)." After this incident, she read about a group of women picketing Olivetti and decided to join them. Not long after that, she began going to meetings of the New York chapter of the National Organization of Women, which was founded by Betty Friedan. She recalls that at one of the meetings they had discussed the topic of female orgasm and whether all women have them or none, and did it take place in the vagina or the clitoris. Hite says, “I remember that there was a lot of silence (Smith, 2006)." After the meeting, someone had suggested that she look into the subject and as she did she realized that there was barely any research and that is where the idea for The Hite Report was born.   ** The Hite Reports: ** The Hite Reports, written by Hite in 1976, are a series of groundbreaking findings that focuses on sexual experiences and what meaning it holds for individuals, specifically women. Hite used an individualistic research approach to compile the information that she needed. She interviewed and sent out questionnaires to thousands of women asking them about their sexual experiences. The questions that were asked included everything about sex, orgasm, and masturbation. The reason Hite chose this method of research is because women were able to speak in their own words and she what they had to say surprising and fascinating (Jong, 1976). The time that Hite wrote these reports coincided with the women’s movement. During this time, there were several books and articles that were written that seemed to tell women what they should think rather than expressing what women actually thought. The Hite reports were one of the first pieces of literature that women could actually relate to because of the fact that it consisted of real accounts of women. After analyzing her findings, Hite came to the realization of just how much sexual starvation exists with individuals. She found that 95% of women always reach an orgasm when they masturbate as opposed to 70% of women who do not reach orgasm during intercourse. Hite also found exactly how women masturbate from how they hold their legs to what devices they use to achieve it. There is frustration that is built up from not achieving orgasm during intercourse while the man does but women can never express it due to the fact that they have a tendency to suppress this anger in an attempt to receive approval and love from their partner. Despite this need sexual starvation, the need for approval trumps it. Women as a whole would prefer having consistency and love rather than complete sexual satisfaction (Jong, 1976).  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Hites opened the gates for female sexuality with her break through finding on female sexuality. As Deutsch (2006) reported “women weren’t reaching orgasm with traditional sex but could with masturbation – became a symbol for women’s new sexual freedom.” For women who were looking to not have to depend on men, this breakthrough was exactly what they needed. No longer did women need to depend on men for pleasure. Having this tie broken, women were free to explore the world according to her desire. According to Juffer (1998) Hite’s demonstration showed that 70% of females were unable to reach orgasm through solely intercourse. This was her main criticism of Master and Johnson’s work because she refused to believe that this was due to sexual dysfunction. If this finding of Master and Johnson’s were true, she would be forced to believe that men are responsible for woman’s pleasure and because of her dysfunction she wasn’t obtaining the pleasure. Thus this would mean that women needed mean for pleasure. However, as she conducted her research, she found that those women that were unable to reach orgasm through intercourse were able to reach orgasm through masturbation. This finding changed the independency of women and granted them freedom to identify themselves as individuals and not people that depend. ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Criticism: ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Just as all great scholars have to endure, Hite went through her fair share of criticism as well. According to Petra (2006), many criticized her for having unrepresentative samples and responses to her interviews from only those with sexual problems. There was also plenty of criticism on her method of research as she interviewed only those who had sexual problems. Her phrasing of these interview questions and her interpretation of data were criticized by many scholars as well. However, just like all revolutionary scholar, these criticisms weren’t large enough to take away from her ground-shaking findings that changed the way women saw themselves. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> ** __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">References: __ ** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1. Boynton, P. (2006, April 29). Reporting on Shere Hite. //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Dr. Petra Boynton | Sex educator, Agony Aunt, Academic //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://www.drpetra.co.uk/blog/reporting-on-shere-hite/ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2. Deutsch, R. (2006, May 15). USATODAY.com - Decades later, Hite reports back. //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-05-15-hite-report_x.htm <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3. Hite, S. (2008). On The Issues Magazine: Summer 2008: Female Orgasm Today: The Hite Report's Research Then and Now by Shere Hite. //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On The Issues Magazine The Progressive Woman's Magazine Spring 2011: The Ecology of Women //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from http://www.ontheissuesmagazine.co  <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">4. Jong, E. (n.d.). Shere Hite and the Hite Reports on Sexuality.//Shere Hite and the Hite Reports on Sexuality//. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://www.datehookup.com/content-shere-hite-and-the-hite-reports-on-sexuality.htm <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">5. Juffer, J. (n.d.). At home with pornography: women, sex ... - Google Books. //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">At home with pornography: women, sex ... // <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from http://books.google.com/books?id=fq_2_KRGuKcC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=juffer+hite+reports&source=bl&ots=dpJiYQpl7h&sig=5O9-U1UXJ9pQiJp4cDwNzupwR8A&hl= <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">6. Perta, X. (2004, September). Review: The Hite Report. //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Review of The Hite Report //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from https://market.android.com/details?id=book-s3OZaVn2wfkC <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">7. Smith, J. (2006, April 30). Shere Hite: On female sexuality in the 21st century - Profiles, People - The Independent. //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Independent | News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/shere-hite-on-female-sexuality-in-the-21st-century-475981.html <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">