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How Shere Hite listened to women’s sexual desires and dislikes | Aeon Essays

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is a historian of global feminism. She holds a Leverhulme postdoctoral fellowship at King’s College London, UK. She is the author of The Book That Taught the World to Orgasm and then Disappeared (2026). Edited bySam Dresser Listen to this essay 28 minute listen In 1972, Shere Hite, a Playboy model turned feminist sex researcher, jumped on a motorbike and drove around Manhattan. With a cascade of strawberry blonde curls peeping out under the helmet, rosebud lips visible under the visor, and a vintage lace gown streaming behind her, she handed out surveys to any woman who would take one. It was all about sex. Across 58 questions, Hite asked: ‘Could you describe what an orgasm feels like to you?’; ‘Do you feel free to do all the things you would like [in sex], or do you think the other person(s) would be shocked?’; ‘Do you think sex is in any way political?’ The responses formed the basis of the feminist sexology bestseller The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality (1976). I

In 1972, Shere Hite, a Playboy model turned feminist sex researcher, jumped on a motorbike and drove around Manhattan. With a cascade of strawberry blonde curls peeping out under the helmet, rosebud lips visible under the visor, and a vintage lace gown streaming behind her, she handed out surveys to any woman who would take one. It was all about sex. Across 58 questions, Hite asked: ‘Could you describe what an orgasm feels like to you?’; ‘Do you feel free to do all the things you would like [in sex], or do you think the other person(s) would be shocked?’; ‘Do you think sex is in any way…

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