The Disappearance of Shere Hite

R | Documentary | 1 Hour 58 Minutes | $12.00 General Admission/$8.00 Members

The Rosendale Theatre is pleased to present The Disappearance of Shere Hite on Saturday March 16 at a 4 pm screening, followed by a discussion with Hite Report Editor, Regina Ryan.

Shere Hite’s 1976 bestselling book, The Hite Report, liberated the female orgasm by revealing the most private experiences of thousands of anonymous survey respondents. Her findings rocked the American establishment and presaged current conversations about gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy.

The film is narrated by actress Dakota Johnson and follows the life of Shere Hite. Hite (1942-2020), was from the Midwest and relocated to New York City for graduate school in the 1960s. In the 1990s Hite left the U.S. and spent the rest of her life in Europe.

The documentary, through interviews with colleagues, friends and feminists, along with archival footage and photographs, tells the story of Shere Hite’s work, its explosive success and controversy, and her eventual disappearance from fame and even residence in the U.S.

From Sophia Satchell Baeza in Sight and Sound:

Nicole Newnham’s documentary about sex educator Shere Hite, who wrote a landmark book on female sexuality, mines the life of a ‘forgotten pioneer’ in a way that really does feel like a rediscovery.

From Roger Ebert:

“The Disappearance of Shere Hite” feels like an epitaph and a reclamation of her legacy. It’s even more poignant at a time when people are losing reproductive rights, and LGBTQ communities are losing their hard-won protections. It is an introduction to the 30th bestselling book of all time and an emotional journey of a woman who dared to speak truth to power.