( CNN ) -- Virginia Johnson once told me something surprising about her famous partnership with Dr. William Masters , which helped revolutionize America 's understanding of human sexuality . Despite Masters and Johnson 's worldwide fame , `` We were absolutely the two most secretive people on the face of the Earth , '' she said . `` There 's simply no one who knew us well . People have a lot of speculation , but they do n't know . '' On Thursday , as I read the obituaries about Johnson 's death at age 88 , I was reminded of Virginia 's words . There 's a sense of marvel about her life story and how she managed to affect the lives and happiness of so many people , especially independent-minded women like herself who wanted to make their own decisions about sex outside the dictates of men . Johnson 's life seems like a modern-day Pygmalion story . Down on her luck , a twice-divorced women and with two kids , she went back to Washington University at age 32 looking for a degree . She was working as a secretary at the university-affiliated hospital in St. Louis when she met Masters , the top ob-gyn and fertility expert in town . A hard-driving , ambitious physician , Masters wanted very much to win a Nobel Prize for documenting clinically just how the human body responded during sex , so that medicine could come up with effective treatments for married couples having troubles in the bedroom . Bill realized he needed a female partner for such a risky venture . The few female doctors around in the 1950s did n't want to go near his potentially explosive experiment that could bring career ruin . Not even Masters ' wife -- with two young children at home in the suburbs -- wanted to get involved . Virginia changed everything . Almost immediately she showed a native genius for what made men and women tick , sexually and in matters of the heart . First as a dutiful associate and eventually as the full-fledged partner to Masters , Johnson convinced dozens of women and men -- nurses , residents , graduate students and various people around St. Louis -- to become part of their secretive decade-long study , the biggest sex experiment in U.S. history . Their work was published in 1966 in `` Human Sexual Response , '' which outlined , in its own obtuse medicalese , just how the body worked during sex . Like cartographers , they mapped how each body part vibrated , sweated and became aroused during lovemaking . Without Virginia Johnson 's extraordinary zeal and persuasiveness , Masters conceded their study would have failed . To his everlasting credit , Bill gave `` Gini '' credit for her remarkable contributions , far more than any male doctor in the 1950s would have done , sharing his byline with her on their first book . Time would underline Johnson 's impact even more . Despite their guarded language , the first book documented the power of female sexuality , showing that women were capable of multiple orgasms -- a veritable fireworks display -- compared to most men 's single firecracker . Their clinical evidence became part of the spark for America 's so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s , reflected in everything from key feminist writings to Hugh Hefner 's Playboy magazine . Even the rosy women 's magazines , filled with recipes and homey bromides , began writing about sex , using the same clinical phrases that Masters and Johnson made acceptable in polite society . But Virginia 's impact became particularly evident in the duo 's second book , 1970 's `` Human Sexual Inadequacy , '' which landed them on the cover of Time magazine and television talk shows . It was Virginia who largely developed the team 's `` sensate '' therapy from a hodgepodge of influences -- including behaviorism , Freudian talking methods and even urology studies from other medical researchers -- that soon had couples flocking to their clinic for a cure for their sexual difficulties . That a woman without a degree had come up with such an effective approach heralding a quintessentially America quick-fix -- an 80 % success rate within a mere two weeks ( as opposed to years on a Viennese analysts ' couch talking about your feelings about poor old Mother ! ) -- was galling to the medical establishment . Yet Masters and Johnson 's pioneering work created the modern sex therapy industry , with clinics around the world relying on their methods and wisdom to this day . Later in life , Virginia would say her 24/7 devotion to her research and their patients hurt both her relationship with her children and her marriage with Masters ( they divorced in the 1990s shortly before their clinic closed ) -- expressing this with the same regret some women today share in balancing work and family life . She was also concerned that their pioneering work on sex might be used by libertines to avoid the necessity of caring for their partners as real , loving human beings , rather than pornographic holograms in the bedroom . But mostly , Johnson became aware that many younger women today had adopted her independent-mindedness about sex , once so verboten in 1950s America . Only they , and not some fatherly figure in a white lab coat , would rule their bodies and set the terms for when , how and with whom they would share themselves . Johnson 's remarkable personal and professional adventures make her one of the most extraordinary American women of the 20th century . Her passing should remind us of just how great an impact her life had on all of us . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Thomas Maier .
Thomas Maier : Le problème est que From modest beginnings , she partnered with William Masters on revolutionary sex research . She and Masters took on subjects not discussed , like women 's multiple orgasms . Maier : Masters said their research depended on her ; she helped change the terms of sex .