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COLLECTION Identifier: T-340

Audiotape collection of Shere Hite, 1977-2004

Overview

Audiotapes by or pertaining to the research of author and sex educator Shere Hite.

Dates

  • Creation: 1977-2004

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials in English, German, and Spanish.

Access Restrictions:

Access. An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material. Researchers must sign a special permission form to use tapes in Series III. Reels #51-53 are closed until January 1, 2043.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the unpublished audio recordings created by Shere Hite is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in the published works created by Shere Hite is held by Shere Hite. Copyright in other audiovisual materials in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Unrestricted for personal use for all audio materials to which access is open upon signing of the special permission form. Open materials may not be reproduced on the Internet without the permission of the Schlesinger Library. Permission obtained from Shere Hite for access to restricted materials includes permission to copy.

Extent

54 audiotapes

The Shere Hite audio collection documents roughly thirty years of appearances by Hite, discussing her research, books, and other topics, before both live and radio audiences. Audiocassettes are organized by content into series, and in chronological order within those series.

Series I, INTERVIEWS, 1981-2002 (#1-24), contains interviews conducted both live and over the radio, as well as more informal conversations.

Subseries A, Live interviews and informal conversations, 1981-2002 (#1-16), contains in-person interviews conducted by or with Hite regarding her research, as well as informal conversations with other writers or artists on related topics.

Subseries B, Radio programs, 1981-1982 (#17-24), contains interviews with Hite on radio programs all over the United States, most pointedly regarding her book on male sexuality, but also on her research generally.

Series II, LECTURES AND TALKS, 1981-2004 (#25-37), includes live recordings and those pre-recorded for broadcast, of Hite delivering lectures, talks, and participating in panel discussions.

Subseries A, Live, 1982-2004 (#25-35), includes Hite speaking live before a variety of audiences at conferences in the United States and abroad. Recordings include question and answer interaction between Hite and audiences.

Subseries B, Pre-recorded programs, 1981-1982 (#36-37), contains two pre-recorded programs featuring Hite as part of a panel discussion.

Series III, QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES, 1977-1984 (#38-46), contains responses to Hite's various questionnaires, recorded and sent in by respondents.

All of the questionnaires were intended to be anonymous. Labels containing identifying information of those who chose to provide personal names or addresses have been redacted to protect their privacy.

Series IV, FINANCIAL AND LEGAL CONVERSATIONS, AND PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.,1977-1985 (#47-54), includes recordings of conversations regarding shared property, taxes, gaining dual citizenship, and a defamation case; it also contains correspondence of a more personal nature such as audiotaped letters from a friend, a conversation with her grandfather, and a recording of her husband performing.

BIOGRAPHY

American-born German author, sex educator, and feminist, Shere Hite was born Shirley Diana Gregory in Saint Joseph, Missouri, to Paul Gregory and Shirley Hurt Gregory on November 2, 1942. Shirley Gregory was 16 years old when Hite was born, and divorced her husband and later remarried. Hite was adopted by her stepfather, Raymond Hite, though she was raised by her grandparents and then by her mother's sister.

After graduating from Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1960, Hite earned degrees in history (BA, 1963 and MA, 1966) from the University of Florida, Gainesville. From 1969 to 1972 she worked towards a PhD in history at Columbia University (New York City). She would complete her doctorate in international relations with a specialty in gender politics at Nihon University (Tokyo, Japan) in 1996.

Early in her career, Hite worked as a model and posed nude for Playboy magazine. In the 1970s, she became active in feminist circles and began her groundbreaking research relating to women's sexuality. From 1972 to 1982, she directed the feminist sexuality project for the National Organization for Women, New York Chapter, and in 1976 published The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality, which was based upon anonymous responses to questionnaires in which women detailed their sexual experiences. This was followed by other works based on responses to questionnaires, including The Hite Report on Male Sexuality (1981), The Hite Report on the Family: Growing Up under Patriarchy (1994), and The Hite Report on Women Loving Women (2007), among others.

In 1976, Newsweek magazine named Hite one of the "most outstanding people of the year," and the World Almanac named her one of "America's 25 most influential women" in 1978.

By the early 1990s, she began writing regular opinion pieces and articles for various newspapers and magazines and traveling internationally as a lecturer and consultant. Starting in the late 1990s, Hite founded the Hite Research Foundation, part of Hite Research International, to increase and advance the visibility and potential of women around the world. Related companies and projects included Hite Research Enterprises, which was designed to provide counseling and networking services among women's rights activist groups. Also during this time she began teaching at Nihon University, Chongqing University (China), and Maimonides University (Florida).

Hite married the classical pianist Friedrich Höricke in 1985 and moved to Europe in 1989. Due to ongoing criticism of her research and methodology, Hite renounced her United States citizenship in 1995 and became a German citizen. She divorced in 1999 and subsequently married Paul Sullivan. In 2012, she was living in London.

ARRANGEMENT

The collection is arranged in four series:

  1. Series I. Interviews, 1981-2002 (#1-24)
  2. Series II. Lectures and talks, 1981-2004 (#25-37)
  3. Series III. Questionnaire responses, 1977-1984 (#38-46)
  4. Series IV. Financial and legal conversations, and personal correspondence, etc. 1977-1985 (#47-54)

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 2008-M69, 2008-M91, 2008-M158

The audiotapes of Shere Hite were acquired by the Schlesinger Library from Shere Hite in 2008.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Schlesinger Library; see Shere Hite papers (MC 698) and the Shere Hite video and motion picture collection (Vt-150; MP-58; DVD-85).

Processing Information

Processed: September 2012

By: Melissa Dollman

Creator

Title
Hite, Shere. Audiotape collection of Shere Hite, 1977-2004: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01411

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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