My Book
My first book The Book that Taught the World to Orgasm and then Disappeared: Shere Hite and The Hite Report will be published in mid-April 2026 by Melville House (US/UK) and New South (Australia).
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Despite being one of the leading thinkers of the second wave feminist movement, today Shere Hite is little known, little written about, and, unsurprisingly, little read. Her groundbreaking book, The Hite Report, was the first feminist exploration of the link between sex and male power. It sold millions of copies when first published in 1976 and revolutionised the way people thought about marriage, sex and the female orgasm.
How, then, did it, and Hite, disappear from public consciousness?
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In this book I combine original research and sharp cultural analysis to explore the complicated life and literary legacy of Shere Hite. Expanding on her ideas about sex – namely, that sex is sexist – the book explores Hite’s fraught childhood, struggles working in the porn industry, and eventual cancellation by the far-right Evangelical movement. All the while, I hold Shere Hite and The Hite Report to account for their own failings and absence of intersectionality.
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In a post-#MeToo world, with the far-right on the march globally, I use recent history to shed light on our current moment, and discuss how conservative and reactionary efforts can silence even the most successful of women.
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Events:
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'Reporting Sex', with Izabella Scott at Subtexts, Queen Mary University (13 April 2026)
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'Shere Hite and the Politics of Pleasure' with Lucy Delap at Libreria Bookshop, Shoreditch (29 April 2026)
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In discussion with Hannah Boast at Lighthouse Bookshop, Edinburgh (13 May 2026)
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Book launch at IASH, Edinburgh University (14 May 2026)
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Advance praise and coverage:
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My work is represented by Kate Johnson of Wolf Literary, New York.
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