The Hite Report: A National Study of Female Sexuality (original 1976; edição 2003)

Librería 3. Estante 5

As I was reading this I kept wondering how things have changed since the mid seventies. But I have a sneaky suspicion I wouldn't like the answer to that.

Gloria Steinem said that all women should read this book, but I would hope (???) that in 2014 a lot of women are familiar with the ideas within -- instead, I think men (especially those who like women) should read this book. And now (after a break, perhaps) I'd like to read the equivalent about men.

Hite's ideas for a better world pretty much line up with my own imaginary utopia, and this is reassuring. Perhaps in an indirect way it was this large survey which informed my own hopes, because I've read quite a few feminist books, and Hite was no doubt influential. Unfortunately though, it hasn't dated as much as it probably should have. It's something I'd like young people to read as part of a 'comprehensive sex education' which, despite the name, is probably no such thing -- not until you've read this book, at least! As I said, I'd love to see a more modern survey, with better formatting. The formatting of this huge book is probably to do with the cost of printing, transporting and storing it, but I'd like to see a more attratctive book design, with the answers from women made distinct from Hite's commentary on the answers. There were many times when I had to go back and look for the speechmarks because I wasn't sure whether I was reading an answer or the commentary.

Highly recommended, though perhaps be prepared to face a range of emotions, and therefore read a little at a time. ( )

Did anyone actually read this for statistics, in an objective, academic way? Or was it not just a very legitimate purchase of a really dirty book? (It was for me!) ( )

This work is a compilation of personal anecdotes (self - reports) about sexuality from women in the USA, but falls far short of anything like a sociological study. When published back in 1976, the book became a bestseller, because of its frank, first-hand accounts, and the feminist perspective through which the author interpreted them. However, the book's pretensions to sociological analysis were quickly dispelled by criticisms of the author's methods and simplistic non-quantitative approach.

Author Shere Hite lacked expertise in social science and statistics, two essential disciplines in any serious analysis of human behavior. As a result, while Ms. Hite’s book presented many interesting individual stories, they did not permit generalizations to US women as a whole. One major criticism focused on the unscientific methods that the author used in soliciting responses. Surveys were printed in various women’s magazines, and sent via direct mailings sponsored by N.O.W. (the National Organization of Women). From ~100,000 mailed surveys, 3000 responses were received, about 1800 of which were used in the book. The minuscule rate of return (less than 2%) and the way respondents were selected meant that responses were not representative of the US population of women. (Likewise, nothing prevented individuals from responding more than once.) A second problem was that three discrepant surveys were used over the course of the study, hampering any compilation of the data. A third was that no serious attempt was made to quantify the results, much less to analyze them according to such variables as ethnicity, age, and level of experience.

In the > 36 years since this work’s publication, it has been superceded by more extensive surveys that have used quantitative and analytical approaches. Any remaining interest that Ms. Hite’s book holds comes from the individual stories and anecdotes with which women may identify and from which men may learn. ( )

Un regard révolutionnaire des femmes, libéré des diktats de la société. Même si le sexe est aujourd'hui largement mis en image, les médias véhiculent des clichés dans lesquels les femmes ont bien du mal à se reconnaître. Grâce à une enquête menée auprès de milliers de femmes, Shere Hite établit un panorama sans précédent de la sexualité féminine. Quels sont les fantasmes des femmes ? Comment parviennent-elles à l'orgasme ? Devenu ouvrage de référence en la matière, Le rapport Hite s'est vendu à près de 35 millions d'exemplaires dans le monde. ( )