Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the beloved sex therapist who broke the taboo of openly talking about sex, has died at the age of 96. We have this remembrance of Westheimer, who became a quirky media figure in the 1980s.
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Before Dr. Ruth, it seemed little old ladies never, ever talked frankly about sex.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RUTH WESTHEIMER: The main thing for you, Joan (ph)…
JOAN: Yes.
WESTHEIMER: …Is to have an orgasm.
RASCOE: Ruth Westheimer, the acclaimed sex therapist, died yesterday at the age of 96. And what a life she had. She was born to an orthodox Jewish family in Germany who sent her to a Swiss orphanage in order to escape the Holocaust. Her parents were killed in Nazi camps. Westheimer was educated at the Sorbonne. She helped fight for Israel’s independence and was trained as a sniper. As an adult, she moved to New York and began teaching human sexuality at several different universities. In 1980, her media career began with a local radio show, “Sexually Speaking.”
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WESTHEIMER: Good evening. This is Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Right here, 97 WYNY…
RASCOE: And Dr. Ruth became a pop culture icon. With her tiny frame and thick accent, she disarmed people who found sex talk shameful or taboo. She was a frequent guest on late-night TV, and while she was entertaining and kind of adorable, Dr. Ruth was focused on educating, not titillating. Here she is speaking with “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WESTHEIMER: The way you can talk about reading, writing, arithmetic, you can also talk about sex. And if you do it in good taste, and if you do it properly, then it can be – everything can be talked about.
RASCOE: That’s Ruth Westheimer, Dr. Ruth, who died yesterday in New York at the age of 96.
Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.