#TuesdayTopic: Inspiring Women Featuring Dr. Ruth Westheimer

Reprinted from an IG post

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It’s time for our #tuesdaytopic where we celebrate inspiring women who have achieved great things in the second half! Today’s topic is the iconic sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, who at 92 is still going and engaged in her work!

Dr. Ruth has a truly fascinating background- she was born in Germany but at the age of 10 was sent to live in Switzerland when the Nazis came to power. It was meant to be a temporary safe haven, but tragically, her parents and grandmother were killed, and she became an orphan of the Holocaust. At 17, she emigrated to Israel, where she became a sniper for the Haganah- she never killed anyone, but was herself seriously injured in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, nearly losing her legs in an explosion. She recovered and moved to France, where she studied Psychology at the Sorbonne, and then to the US, where she continued her education at The New School. She earned her Masters degree, and several jobs followed (Research Assistant, Project Director at Planned Parenthood, teacher) before her radio show came to be.

Sexually Speaking debuted on local radio in NYC in 1980 when Dr. Ruth was 50 years old! She didn’t set out to be a media star; she had given a talk to a group of NY broadcasters about the importance of sex education, and it so impressed a station manager at WYNY-FM (also a woman) that she was given a show. It was so popular that in 1984, NBC syndicated it nationwide (I used to sneak a transistor radio under my pillow to listen!). She has also hosted several TV shows and written 45 books on sex and sexuality. She was revolutionary for bringing the topic of sex out in the open and educating the public on important matters that were formerly taboo.

When asked in an interview with the Harvard Business Review if she ever thinks about retiring, she had this to say: “Never. I believe not in retiring but in rewiring…” Her life is such an extraordinary example on so many levels. She survived unthinkable tragedy, persevered through it all, and continues to thrive into her 90’s. A true inspiration, indeed!