Based on information gathered from four thousand five hundred women, this study analyzes emotional relationships between men and women and documents widespread discontent and questions by women of prevailing cultural patterns
Following The Hite Report: a nationwide study of female sexuality and The Hite Report on Male Sexuality , the final volume of the Hite trilogy reports on the responses of 4500 women to open-ended questionnaires about their emotional relations with men and with each other. The sure-to-be-widely cited statistics document widespread dissatisfaction among both married and single women; and their mass decampment (either actually or emotionally) from the men in their lives. Generalizations are illustrated with lengthy, often poignant comments from respondents, followed by statistical tables. There will be the usual quibbles about methodology, but this is a study of major importance that addresses the realities of many readers' lives. Beverly Miller, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id. Copyright 1987 Cahners Business Information.
The culmination of the Hite Report trilogy, this massive, potentially controversial work is a zealous indictment of men's attitudes toward love and ``domination and condescension'' shown in their behavior toward women: ``Men need to create a new style of relationships with women. Right now, men's idea of the `male' way of life as heroic and courageous is in direct conflict with their treatment of women, their frequent lack of emotional development in personal relationships, disinterest in equal sharing with women, and the pain they often inflict on others and themselves.'' Much of the complaints (the bulk of the book includes overwhelmingly extensive quotes by women and statistics Hite compiled from 4500 responses to her questionnaire) aren't newbut women readers will empathize and feel validated. In this paean to womanhood, Hite dismisses Freudian and other psychological viewpoints that label women as masochistic or neurotic rather than acknowledging that they suffer from ``real problems created by a real social ideology.'' She is less than articulate (``Women are being `f----ed over' by a culture which is trying to persuade women to take on the `male' ideology'') and succumbs to offering tit for tat: ``On a personal level, if we find that men aren't treating us with much respect, we can stop treating them with so much respect, also.'' Literary Guild featured alternate. (October 26) Copyright 1987 Cahners Business Information.
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