Ask Dr. Ruth documentary review: More than just a sex therapist

If you ask most Americans today who Dr. Ruth Westheimer is, they’d probably respond “that popular sex therapist” and while they’re absolutely correct, there’s much more to Karola Ruth Siegal, evidenced by the Ask Dr. Ruth documentary.

In the Hulu Documentary Ask Dr. Ruth, we get to see a full exploration of the renown educator’s life, going as far back as her life in Germany during the Nazi occupation. A lot of people don’t know that Dr. Ruth was a Holocaust survivor who lost both her parents and grandmother during the war. They died when Hitler instituted a mass extermination order which resulted in the deaths of millions of Jewish people. The sadder fact is that Ruth/Karola never received a confirmation — she came to terms with the reality of her parents’ fate once letters stopped coming.

Karola Ruth Siegal was able to stay in contact with her parents during the early days of the war, even while they were imprisoned in an internment camp. But once years spent in an orphanage passed, without receiving any letters, she had to accept that her parents did not survive the war. She eventually moved to Palestine where she changed her name from Siegal to Westheimer, enlisting in the armed forces.

The exploration of Ruth Westheimer’s early life is extremely sad to think about but there’s an upside to her story — she survived. And not only is she still alive but Dr. Ruth is thriving at 90 years old.

The documentary also makes it a point to emphasize that despite her age, nothing is slowing Ruth down. She’s very active, working on several books, and making public appearances on a weekly basis. She’s also still an avid advocate of Women’s Reproductive Rights, an issue she adamantly speaks about in the Hulu doc. Dr. Ruth doesn’t spend too much time on the subject but what she says is enough to confirm that she feels strongly about the matter.

There were plenty of other highlights in the Ask Dr. Ruth documentary that deserve mention but the final and most prevalent aspect we’ll leave you with is that Ruth Westheimer was at the forefront of the Sexual Revolution. She obviously wasn’t the only one but Ruth made her presence known better than anyone else did.

To put that in perspective, the documentary focuses on how Ruth Westheimer’s TV show from 1987 pushed the boundaries of censorship. The show didn’t reveal explicit pictures of body parts or anything of that nature — people just weren’t supposed to say “penis” or “vagina” on the air at the time, which she did.

Censorship was much more restricted back then than it is today but Dr. Ruth didn’t care about that. She understood people needed to feel comfortable with speaking about these touchy subjects so she didn’t censor herself. She said exactly what was on her mind — and everyone else’s mind — and then put it on the air for America to hear. Showing people this honest approach encouraged them to call in and get the deep secrets they were burying out into the open — but on an anonymous forum in a way that wouldn’t backfire.

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In doing so, Dr. Ruth saved a lot of people who felt like their lives should’ve ended. A lot of the thanks and letters of appreciation she receives are from people who state they only survived the roughest patches of their lives because of her. That in itself makes Dr. Ruth a hero, albeit by unconventional means, but a hero nonetheless.

What did you think of the Ask Dr. Ruth documentary? Let us know in the comments section below.

Ask Dr. Ruth is currently streaming on Hulu. For more on this Hulu Documentary, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.