Ruth Westheimer, who has died aged 96, was an American psychosexual therapist famed for transforming attitudes towards the open discussion of sex. She began quietly in 1980 with a 15-minute recorded programme, Sexually Speaking, aired after midnight on a New York radio channel. A year later it had become an hour-long live phone-in show.
Following emphatic success she went on to write more than 35 books, including Dr Ruth’s Encyclopedia of Sex (1994) and Sex for Dummies (1995). She also syndicated her column in newspapers worldwide, and developed games, videos, software and her own website.
