Contributor

Dr. Peggy Drexler

Author, research psychologist and gender scholar

Dr. Peggy Drexler, Author, Our Fathers Ourselves. Daughters, Fathers, And The Changing American Family

You can reach me through this Web site: www.peggydrexler.com

I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University and former Gender Scholar at Stanford University.

I’ve spent my career studying sex and gender: men and women, boys and girls, and how they come together in families. As the concept of family continues to pass through a time of stress and redefinition, my research has taken me deep into their lives. I’ve explored who they are, what they want, and how they are changing. It’s been a fascinating journey.

I’ve had a life-long interest in how children are affected and shaped by their relationships with the men and women in their families. I’ve looked at how these early associations influence how they live, work and love– and how content they are with the adults they have become.

Our Fathers Ourselves. Daughters, Fathers, And The Changing American Family is about the changing connection between fathers and daughters. (Rodale, May 10, 2011). Using my personal story, research, and the first person stories of the many women I’ve interviewed, the book examines the state of a powerful bond in a time of unbridled female choice and opportunity. It explores how daughters can enhance the bond, and even recreate it, by breaking through the roles and assumptions of the past.

My first book was the much discussed, Raising Boys Without Men. It introduced readers to boys in single and two-mother families. The book earned wide praise and was a finalist for a Books for a Better Life Award and a Lamda Literary Award.

I’ve been fortunate to share my ideas and findings in a variety of academic settings, including presentations at Harvard Law School and Harvard Medical School.

I’ve also appeared on and written for a wide range of national and international media, including: The Today Show, Good Morning America, NPR, New York Times, USA Today, Good Housekeeping and Parents magazines. My blogs appear regularly on Huffington Post.