Karola Ruth Westheimer known to the world as “Dr. Ruth,” died this past week at the age of 96. A bona fide celebrity, talk show host, and TV personality, the diminutive psychologist was one of the most prominent champions of sex positivity in the modern age.
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Early Life
For someone who always seemed so positive, Westheimer lived much of her early life in the shadow of violence.
Born in Germany to a Jewish family, young Karola was spirited away at the age of ten by her parents when the Nazis came to power; they died in a concentration camp, and Karola attended school in Switzerland. After World War II, Karola emigrated to Mandatory Palestine, and at seventeen she joined the Haganah the primary Zionist paramilitary organization, set up in British Mandated Palestine at the time.
Karola, still a teenager at just seventeen, was trained as a sniper and was wounded in the 1947-1949 Israeli War of Independence.
At nineteen Westheimer moved to Paris, where she would begin her study in the field that would become her career, psychology. After completing her degree at the Sorbonne, she emigrated to the US in 1956, where, while working as a maid, Karola put herself through graduate school.
She earned a Master of Arts in sociology from The New School, in New York City, in the very last year of that decade.
Becoming A Household Name… as a Sexpert
Dr. Ruth’s career in front of the camera, and into the spotlight of American culture, began in 1980 when she hosted her call-in radio show (years before podcasts were even a thought) Sexually Speaking, which ran a full decade. Westheimer also launched a television show.
Soon after, her honest, unflinching advice about sex and relationships – as well as her small stature and charming smile – were known the world over. Her often-uttered tagline “Get Some” encouraged thousands of people to regard their sexuality and intimate relationships as something to discuss and celebrate.
Between 1984 and 1993, which would be a very busy period for her, Dr. Ruth hosted several series for various cable channels, made guest appearances on network television shows, starred in a movie, was interviewed for mainstream magazines, authored forty-five books, and appeared as a regular guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
She even sang on a Tom Chapin album!
Legacy
The legacy Dr. Ruth leaves behind is too massive to quantify. It's no exaggeration to say she saved marriages, relationships, and probably lives. Helping countless women feel better about reaching orgasm with her frank advice, demystifying the worry over premature ejaculations, and decreasing the mass cultural shame over masturbation (to name just a few of the sexual subjects she addressed), Dr. Ruth fearlessly tackled concerns over subjects that were regarded as taboo in polite society. Stating that "anything that two consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom or kitchen floor is all right with me," the German-born, American-made psychologist surely helped champion a healthier view of human sexuality, in a public forum, like never before.
Her presence will be sorely missed.
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