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This is a documentary that follows the story of a woman who disappeared and is not a true crime tale, unless it involves crimes against feminism. It focuses on Shere Hite, an influential American sex researcher, and explores her disappearance from the prominent circle of 20th-century feminists. In 1976, Hite gained fame with her groundbreaking book, The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality. This book, which sold 48 million copies, was based on an anonymous survey of 3,000 women about their sexual experiences. One of Hite’s major findings was that 70% of women did not experience orgasm from penetrative sex, which was considered groundbreaking news in the late 1970s.
Hite worked as a model while pursuing her PhD and later joined the feminist movement in New York. She was motivated to take action after she was featured in a sexist advertisement for a typewriter. The documentary includes archival footage that captures the energy and revolutionary spirit of the 1970s feminist movement. Director Nicole Newnham also conducts insightful interviews with Hite’s colleagues, including activists, academics, and psychologists who were familiar with her work. Hite herself is featured in archive footage as a captivating figure, with her delicate beauty and sharp intellect that could outwit any politician. The diary entries of Hite are read by Dakota Johnson in a wonderful voiceover.
The publication of The Hite Report had a profound impact on women who had long carried feelings of guilt or inadequacy surrounding their sexuality. Some men responded with defensiveness, labeling Hite as a man-hater and perceiving the book’s message to be that women do not need men. During a chatshow appearance, Hite is joined by David Hasselhoff, who makes a juvenile comment about his own sexual experiences. Hite responds with a raised eyebrow, finding amusement in Hasselhoff’s statement.
Hite received criticism for her involvement in Playboy as a young model and her research methods were deemed unreliable. Unfortunately, the validity of these attacks on her credibility are not addressed. The opposition against her work intensified in the 1980s, coinciding with the emergence of the religious conservative movement. On an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Hite faced a predominantly male audience and the animosity towards her was difficult to watch. She eventually left the United States and resided in Europe until her death in 2020.
This film is incredibly captivating and tells the story of an extraordinary woman. The cinematography is also stunning. Hite had a strong appreciation for photographers and recognized the impact of visual images. The portraits she created with German photographer Iris Brosch are remarkable: Hite is depicted in water, resembling a pre-Raphaelite beauty like Ophelia from Millais’ paintings, but she is not portrayed as a victim. Instead, she exudes control as she holds a pen rather than flowers, with a confident gaze towards the camera. If this documentary does not bring Hite into the mainstream for a new generation of feminists, the biopic that should follow surely will.
Source: theguardian.com
