Decades later, Dr. Ruth still dispensing great sex advice
Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s career as a sex educator began in the early 1980s, when she was enlisted to host a radio show called Sexually Speaking. NBC was worried about allowing live phone calls, so they began by taking listener questions via letters. Later, when the show went live with a 7-second digital delay, Dr. Ruth was already becoming a household name. Listeners were enamored with her jolly demeanor and frank answers.
Soon after, Dr. Ruth launched her own TV show, which was nationally syndicated and led to more and more TV appearances. She taught and lectured at colleges, wrote a whole host of books, endorsed a sex toy, and continued to dole out sex advice. With her relaxed approach, she helped usher in a new age of openly discussing sex.
What you may not know about Dr. Ruth is that she has transitioned into the digital age remarkably well. Not only does she have a website (which, of course, has a Q&A section), she also has a YouTube channel and Twitter account. And yes, they are just as delightful as you might imagine.
On her YouTube channel, which has over 1,500 subscribers, Dr. Ruth posts pithy, adorable answers to questions that online fans ask her:
The channel also includes footage from her old TV shows, movie and book reviews, musings about getting a kiss from President Obama, and more. Her video review of Fifty Shades of Grey is particularly good:
On Dr. Ruth’s Twitter account, she tweets about the latest sex-related news and studies. Reading through her timeline, you get the sense she just wants to encourage people to have more, satisfying sex. A valiant goal!
In the 55th anniversary edition of Playboy in January 2009, Dr. Ruth clocked in at #13 in the list of the 55 most important people in sex from the past 55 years. We must agree! It’s pretty awesome that she has continued to bring her signature sex advice to the masses, even 30+ years after she began her career. Only now, she’s answering tweets rather than letters.
