Sex therapist Ruth Westheimer is dead
Published: Saturday, Jul 13th 2024, 18:10
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Sex therapist Ruth Westheimer is dead. The psychologist known as "Dr. Ruth" died on Friday evening (local time) at the age of 96 and in the presence of her children Miriam and Joel, spokesman Pierre Lehu confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Westheimer is regarded as an important pioneer for an open approach to sex and partnership issues, particularly in the USA.
She was born Karola Ruth Siegel in 1928 in Wiesenfeld near Frankfurt into a Jewish family and was taken to Switzerland on a Kindertransport at the age of ten, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. She survived the Holocaust and became a US citizen in 1965, later regaining her German citizenship.
Career began with the radio program "Sexually Speaking"
Westheimer's career began with the radio show "Sexually Speaking", in which she answered questions from listeners. The success was soon so great that further radio and television broadcasts followed. Together with speaker Pierre Lehu, Westheimer also published several books, including "Sex for Dummies" and "Silver Sex - How to enjoy your love with relish".
Her characteristic giggle and open approach to sex tips won her many fans. She spoke uninhibitedly about topics such as ejaculation and masturbation, so that hundreds of thousands anonymously sought advice from the motherly expert. "Her name and the distinct sound of her voice are inextricably linked to sex," the New York Times once wrote.
In 2019, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit
Westheimer had many international supporters and was also awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 2019. "The questions are the same everywhere," she once told the German Press Agency. Every country boasts that it has the best lovers. But she could by no means recognize the best in the world. The image of the supposedly puritanical America in comparison to a sexually much freer Europe is also pure "nonsense". Westheimer has written more than 30 sex guides in total.
©Keystone/SDA
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