This is a guest post by Manuscript Division archivist Katherine Madison. Dr. Ruth passed away earlier this month at her home in New York City, after forty years of listening to the nation’s sexual and relationship problems and providing empathetic and straightforward advice through her many books and shows.
Ruth Westheimer became a household name as “Dr. Ruth” in the 1980s, filling radio waves, television screens, and bookshelves with advice on sex and relationships. Dr. Ruth was a pioneering voice in sex education, speaking openly about contraception, orgasms, and male and female anatomy (consistently using the words “penis,” “vagina,” and “clitoris” instead of euphemisms), at a time when such topics were publicly taboo.
The Dr. Ruth Westheimer Papers, now open for research in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, document her career and public outreach through a unique lens: letters sent in by listeners of Dr. Ruth’s radio program, viewers of her television show, and readers of her books.
Dr. Ruth first went on the air in 1980 on WYNY FM, broadcasting in New York City. Only radio listeners with antennae strong enough to pick up New York’s 97.1 FM station could hear her German-accented voice until 1984, when NBC Radio nationally syndicated her program, Sexually Speaking. Her audience grew with the premiere of Good Sex! With Dr. Ruth Westheimer on Lifetime Television in 1984. Both listeners and viewers sent in questions, comments, and requests for information or the occasional autograph.
The Westheimer Papers consist almost exclusively of letters sent to Dr. Ruth from 1980 to 1986 by members of her radio and television audiences seeking guidance for their own problems regarding sexual experience (Is my penis too small? How do I achieve an orgasm?) or relationship issues (Should I leave him? Do you think she’ll call me back? I’m concerned about our age gap!). Dr. Ruth answered these questions with a directness that made her popular, given the subject matter she tackled. She spoke to callers (and answered letters) from audience members of all ages and sexualities. She gave advice about specific sexual acts or positions to help individuals dealing with insecurities, inexperience, or physical limitations. She often referred callers to other therapists if their questions were too complex to be answered in a couple of minutes, or to medical doctors, such as urologists or gynecologists, if the audience member had a physical ailment. (“I am not a physician,” she would say to callers and letter writers who assumed that she held an M.D., rather than a doctorate in education.)
Dr. Ruth’s most important advice, other than offering guidance she hoped would bring her audience “terrific sex!” (with a trademark trill to her voice), was encouraging the use of contraception. She would interrupt callers to ask, “Are you using contraception?” before allowing them to continue with their question. If the caller answered in the affirmative, they’d receive a “good” and a smile; those answering in the negative would hear a plea to please visit their gynecologist or local Planned Parenthood. The letters in the Manuscript Division’s collection are full of writers asking Dr. Ruth for advice on which type of contraceptive to use. Many letter writers also added a postscript to their letters – “Yes, we are using contraception!” – to assure Dr. Ruth that they were following her advice and practicing safe sex.
However beloved she was by her audience, Dr. Ruth was not without her critics. In December 1981, a listener from the Bronx wrote in to WYNY asking if Dr. Ruth had received any complaints from the conservative political advocacy group Moral Majority, specifically regarding her stance on contraception. Dr. Ruth responded to the listener in a letter sent the following May:
I am sure that my views differ quite sharply from those of the Church or the Moral Majority. So far, I have received no complaint from either group.
If they did complain, I would tell them that they are entitled to their views, but that I am also trying to help people. My way is to help them have rewarding and responsible sex lives. This, I believe, is a worthy cause.
Dr. Ruth did indeed receive many complaints. In addition to those seeking her help, the collection also contains many letters from individuals berating Dr. Ruth for speaking so openly on topics that they felt should be limited to private conversations between husbands and wives only. Other letters were critical of her willingness to discuss explicit sexual acts between homosexual as well as heterosexual couples. Critics wrote of their concern for “the youth.” For example, a slew of letters sent in October 1985 contained copies of a newsletter written by a religious leader at New York City’s Covenant House, asking: “Did we leave that sacred duty of education in responsible sexuality to the Dr. Ruth’s of this world?” For, the writer continued, “It is Dr. Ruth’s almost totally secular and incredibly hedonistic value system that offends and distresses.”
To those who complained, Dr. Ruth responded that they could change the dial if they didn’t want to listen to her, or change the channel if they didn’t want to view her television program. And from the premiere of Sexually Speaking as a 15-minute radio segment in 1980 to its national syndication as an hour-long program on NBC Radio in 1984, followed by TV shows, published books, and a board game, Dr. Ruth’s audience only grew. According to promotional material distributed by NBC Radio, Sexually Speaking consistently raised listening rates for stations that aired the program following its national syndication. Good Sex! With Dr. Ruth Westheimer, which eventually changed its name to Ask Dr. Ruth and continued on Lifetime Television under various other titles, stayed on the air until 1990. In addition to her regular appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, she was a guest on The Tonight Show (with both Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers as hosts), The Phil Donahue Show, and even Hollywood Squares.
The Dr. Ruth Westheimer Papers in the Manuscript Division document the rise of her popularity in the early 1980s. But they also provide a deep insight into the sexual frustrations and obsessions of the era and are a unique resource for anyone who wants to study the evolution of America’s sexual mores.
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“If they did complain…” Dr. Ruth Westheimer to a listener, May 7, 1982, Folder: 1982 May (3 of 4), Letters with responses, Listener letters, Box 27, Dr. Ruth Westheimer Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
“Did we leave that sacred duty…” Folder: 1985 October, Letters received, Listener letters, Box 13, Dr. Ruth Westheimer Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.