Shere Hite had distributed anonymous questionnaires to about 100.000 women with age ranging from 14 to 78. 3.000 of those questionnaires were selected to be published in the book. Although the research lack of a good statistical work and some demographic information that would be essential to make the book a valuable scientific research, it was the first time that women could express their dissatisfaction concerning her marriages and her sexual life in general. More than in-deep theories and numbers, the book comprises personal stories, opinions and anecdotes (some even bizarre) about sex. By reading other women talking so about their intimacies in such open manner, Hite's readers felt their complains justified, what really raised the fact that women were very unhappy with their sexual life. It was women saying to other women that something was very wrong. The Hite Report was also the first study that gave the clitoris its real importance as an essential organ to the achievement of orgasm. It revealed the importance of masturbation, and raise important questions such as "how does it feel not having an orgasm during intercourse?" or "what's the most frustrating thing that women had to face in bed?". Many taboos were finally open topics for discussion.

Later in 1981, Shere Hite tried to repeat the results of her first book with "The Hite Report On Male Sexuality", compiling questionnaires answered by 7.000 men. However, the success was only achieved with her third book, "The Hite Report On Women And Love: A Cultural Revolution in Progress", from 1987, which revealed that nearly 98% of American women were still unsatisfied with her life in bed. Shere Hite renounced her U.S citizenship in 1996 as a protest and today lives in Germany, where she runs a foundation that is dedicated to "improve the status of women around the world" through many scholarships and programmes.