The Disappearance of Shere Hite (2023)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Disappearance of Shere Hite is a documentary film which premiered in 2023.

 

This film covers the life and work of Shere Hite in great detail.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Director: Nicole Newnham

** Narrator (the voice of Shere Hite): Dakota Fanning

** Run time: 118 minutes

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

Here are some results:

 

75 percent = IMDb

83 percent = Meta

97 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

100 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

As you can see, the ratings are very good. In my opinion, the numerous positive reviews are fully justified.

 

Shere Hite was born in the USA in 1942. 

 

When she grew up, she became a writer of several reports which focused on sexuality: a topic which is highly controversial in the USA.

 

She was not the first writer to explore this topic.

 

** Around 1950 = Alfred Kinsey

** Around 1960 = Masters and Johnson

 

Shere Hite wanted to follow them. She wanted to explore aspects which had not been covered by her predecessors.

 

Her first report - known as The Hite Report - was published in 1976.

 

It was based on information which she received when numerous women filled in and returned a questionnaire which she had distributed across the nation.

 

The first report was followed by other reports which explored different aspects of the same topic.

 

Shere Hite was well liked by some, but criticised by others.

 

Shere Hite became the target of a long-running campaign in which her work was not only criticised but also ridiculed.

 

According to the critics, her work was not professional, not scientific, not relevant.

 

The critics had a voice which was louder than the voice of her supporters.

 

Apparently, she got tired of the endless criticism.

 

She left the US and moved to Europe. She settled in Germany. In 1995, she renounced her American citizenship.

 

She lived the rest of her life in Germany. She died in 2020 after a time when she had suffered from poor health.

 

PS. Nicole Newnham is an American filmmaker who has been involved in several productions. She is co-director of The Rape of Europa which premiered in 2006.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. The predecessors

 

Kinsey

(2004)

A historical and biographical drama about Alfred Charles Kinsey (1894-1956)

 

Masters of Sex

(2013-2016)

A television series which focuses on the lives and careers of William Masters and Virginia Johnson. This series ran for four seasons on US television (Showtime)

 

# 2. Books by Shere Hite

 

The Hite Report on Female Sexuality

(1976)

 

The Hite Report on Men and Male Sexuality

(1981)

 

Women and Love:

A Cultural Revolution in Progress

(1987)

 

The Hite Report on Shere Hite:

Voice of a Daughter in Exile

(2000)

 

The Shere Hite Reader: New and Selected Writings on Sex, Globalization and Private Life

(2006)

 

*****

The American-born German 

sex-educator and feminist

Shere Hite

(1942-2020)

 

*****

 

The Hite Report:

A Nationwide Study of

Female Sexuality

(First published 1976)

 

*****