Renowned for Her Warm, Accessible Style,
Peggy Will leave your audience inspired!
"Peggy, you were fantastic. Your energy was great, you are so personable on Zoom, your stories were fascinating and you also gave everyone some solid actions to take with our kids. Thank you for diving in and shining so much light on what is going on for our teens!” —Margot Biehle, Parent Education Committee Co-Chair, Marin Academy
An internationally-acclaimed expert on the challenges facing teens--and their parents--as they come of age in today’s culture, Peggy is known for her provocative insight, conversational style and surprising wit. Her fresh take on such topics as sexual consent, ethics and pleasure; the influences of mainstream media, social media and pornography; the rise of hookup culture; sexual consent; and gender socialization have made her a sought-after speaker on high school and college campuses as well as at professional conferences.
Peggy’s most popular talks include:
Girls & Sex: Navigating a Complicated New Landscape
Inspired by her New York Times best-seller, Girls & Sex, Orenstein here offers a clear-eyed picture of the new sexual landscape girls face in high school through college and reveals how they’re negotiating it. With humor, surprising facts and compelling anecdotes, she opens up a much-needed conversation about an often silent subtext of teenage life, touching on the ways in which internet porn, social media and traditional media affect young people’s sexual scripts; the role of hookup culture; how what “counts” as sex has changed; the painful realities surrounding assault; consent education; and taboos around discussing female sexual pleasure (and why that endangers girls). This talk can be tailored for parents, professional groups (conferences, corporate, therapists, educators etc.), college students or high school students (15+). While its main subject is girls, the subject matter has been enthusiastically received by boys as well!
Boys & Sex: Hookup Culture, Love, Porn, Consent and Becoming a Better Man
Boys are subject to the same cultural forces as girls—steeped in the same distorted media images of female sexual availability and male sexual entitlement—which equally affect how they navigate sexual and emotional relationships. Inspired by her New York Times best-seller, Orenstein, in this talk, focuses on her work with high school and college guys to once again give voice to the unspoken, revealing how they understand and negotiate the new rules of physical and emotional intimacy. Combining research, wit and powerful stories Orenstein explains boys’ emotional development; how pornography has become the default sex educator; young men’s understanding of hookup culture and consent; the surprising lessons to be learned from queer boys; and young men's experience as both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting talk that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as their best selves. This talk can be tailored for parents, professional groups (conferences, corporate, therapists, educators etc.), college students or high school students (15+). While its main subject is boys, the subject matter has been enthusiastically received by girls as well!
Let’s Talk About Sex: How a New Generation Navigates Hookups, Porn, Love & Consent
In this talk, Orenstein combines her research with voices of both boys and girls (as well as those between or beyond genders), to discuss the impact on high school and college students’ sexual scripts of mainstream media, social media and porn; hookup culture; changing expectations around consent; the politics of sexual pleasure; the diversity of sexual orientations; gendered power dynamics. With humor and compassion, she separates myth from reality, ultimately giving parents, educators and young people the conversational tools they need to ensure safe, pleasurable, mutually satisfying sexual encounters and intimate relationships.
From Princesses to Pop-Tarts: What the New Culture of Girlhood Means for Girls (and the Grown-Ups Who Care About Them)
Concerns about the media messages urging the premature sexualization of girls, and the attendant risks, used to focus on twelve or thirteen-year-olds. No more. The new pink and pretty "girlie-girl" culture encourages girls from infancy onward to believe that how they look matters more than who they are. Orenstein discusses the trajectory of girls’ culture from toddler through “tween": even as new educational and professional opportunities appear before today's girls, so does a path equating identity with image, self-expression with appearance, pleasure with pleasing, and sexuality with sexualization. Orenstein illuminates the potential negative impact of the new girlie-girl culture, but argues persuasively that with awareness and recognition, parents and advocates can effectively counterbalance its influence.
ACCOLADES
“Everyone felt Peggy’s visit was a total success, especially the students! Her message was perfectly prepared and directed for those in the room. She got terrific questions after her talk. And she stayed for at least 30 minutes after that to answer follow up questions and talk with students who didn’t get a chance to go to the mic. She was awesome!”
—Elon University
“Peggy is a terrific speaker. Not only is she insightful and smart, drawing from numerous sources to support her points with intelligence and humor, but she somehow manages to present her material in a manner that is fresh, authentic and unrehearsed. It is a rare speaker who can find the balance of “sticking to the topic” and still maintain a spark of spontaneity, yet Peggy manages to do just that. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive and we hope Peggy Orenstein’s visit will have a lasting impact on the parents – and the children – in our city. “ —The Newton Partnership, Newton, MA
“The word that kept coming to mind tonight as I listened was ‘phenomenal.’ I feel renewed, inspired and hopeful -- what more could anyone ask for?”—Davis Parent University , Davis, CA
“Peggy spoke in our all-school assembly and then again at night to a packed audience from the local area. She is fearless and tackled all the important questions that appear in her book, Girls and Sex, although she was careful to ask about appropriate guidelines with the student group. She is an excellent speaker and held the interest of both audiences from beginning to end. It’s worth noting that Peggy was equally good with students of all genders, and spent quite a bit of time with students who identify as male. They found her to be an excellent listener and she helped them probe what it means to be male in this era. Coupled with her stated topic of femininity, desire, and pleasure, this openness made her a valuable presence on campus for all our students.” —Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH (administrator)
"It was exciting and inspiring for me, following Peggy's talk, to watch my female and male classmates reconsidering the societal expectations surrounding sex to which they had unknowingly held themselves, and engaging in real conversation about our campus's sexual culture and its effect on all genders." —Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH (student)
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Boston College
Carleton College
Central Washington University
Diablo Valley College
Drake College
Elon University
Emory University
Franklin & Marshall College
Goucher College
Hamline College,
Harvard School of Education
Hastings College
Indiana University
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kent State University
Lehigh University
Loyola College
Marquette University
The New School for Social Research
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Ohio University
Oberlin College
Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University
Rice University
Marymount College
MiraCosta Community College
Montclair State University
Sacramento State University
Seattle University
Sonoma State University
Stern College for Women
Tulane University
University of Akron
University of California at Berkeley
UCSF Medical School
University of Minnesota Medical School, Institute for Sexual and Gender Health
University of Delaware
University of Nevada
University of North Carolina
University of Oregon
University of Richmond
University of South Dakota
University of Southern Indiana
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin
Virginia Tech University
Washington University
West Chester University
Wheaton College
PRE-SCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
Almaden Country School, San Jose, CA
The Berkeley School, Berkeley, CA
Bishop Strachan School, Toronto, Canada
Black Pine Circle School, Berkeley, CA
The Blake School, Minneapolis, MN
BBYO International Convention
The Branson School, Ross, CA
Canadian Teachers Federation, National Status of Women Conference, Ottowa, Ontario
Davis Parent University, Davis, CA
Drew School, San Francisco
Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ
Campbell Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Catlin Gabel School, Portland, OR
Colorado Academy, Denver, CO
Family Action Network, Evanston, IL
Family Montessori School, El Cerrito, CA
Gender Equity Council, Dade County, FL
Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC
Glenbard Parent Series, Glenbard, IL
Grace Church School, New York, NY
Greater Edmonton Teachers Convention Association, Edmonton, Alberta
Greenwich Country Day School, Greenwich, CT
The Laurel School for Girls, Cleveland, OH
Head Royce School, Oakland, CA
Educational Leadership Association, Toledo OH
Epiphany School, Seattle, WA
The Julia Morgan School for Girls, Oakland, CA
Katherine Delmar Burke School, San Francisco, CA
Kent Denver School, Denver, CO
Korowa Anglican Girls School, Melboure, AUS
Lexington Community Education, Lexington, MA.
Loyola Academy, Chicago, IL
Marin Academy, San Rafael, CA
Marin Country Day School, Mill Valley, CA
Marin Primary and Middle School, Larkspur, CA
Marlborough School, Los Angeles, CA
Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA
Methodist Ladies’ College, Perth, AUS
Middlesex School, Concord, MA
Mountain View Los Altos School District, Los Altos, CA
Mount St. Benedict's School, Sydney, AUS
National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, Jacksonville, FL
National Education Association, Conference on Women and Minorities, Washington DC
The Northwest School, Seattle, WA
Orchard House School, Richmond, VA
Winchester Parent to Parent, Winchester, MA
The Park School, Baltimore, MD
Patchie’s Place, San Diego, CA
Phillips Andover Academy, Andover, MA
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
Piedmont High School, Piedmont, CA
Prospect Sierra School, El Cerrito, CA
Roland Park Country School, Baltimore, MD
Ruyton Girls’ School, Melbourne, AUS
Sacred Heart School, Atherton, CA
St. David’s School, Minneapolis, MN
St. George’s School, Middleton, RI
St. Margaret's School, Brisbane, AUS
St. Martin of Tours School, San Jose, CA
St. Michael's Collegiate School, Hobart, AUS
San Francisco Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools, San Francisco, CA
The Spence School for Girls, New York, NY
Stevenson School, Pebble Beach, CA
The Thacher School, Ojai, CA
United Nations International School, Hanoi, Vietnam
The University of Chicago Lab School, Chicago, IL
Trinity Grammar School, Melbourne, AUS
Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati, OH
The Wilderness School, Adelaide, AUS
GIRLS’ AND WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS
Alliance for Girls annual conference, San Francisco, CA
Alliance of Girls Schools Australasia
About-Face , San Francisco, CA
American Association of University Women, Danville, CA
American Association of University Women, national conference, Orlando, FL
Breast Cancer Action, San Francisco, CA
Canadian Women in Medicine national conference, Montreal, Canada
Council of Women World Leaders, The Aspen Institute, Washington, DC
Festival of Women Authors, Berkeley, CA
Center for Domestic Peace, Marin County, C
Girls’ Coalition Conference, Pittsburgh, PA
Girls Day School Trust, London, England
Girls Inc., Dallas, TX
Girls, Inc., Houston, TX
Girls, Inc., Alameda, CA
Girl Scouts of America, New York, NY
Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, Salina, KS
Hadassah National Conference, Los Angeles, CA
Hadassah Foundation Leadership Conference, New York, NY
Jewish Federation Women’s Division, Minneapolis, MN
Lean On Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL
Lifeworks for Women Conference, Chicago, IL
League of Women Voters Women’s Equality Day, Evansville, IN
National Charity League, Wellesley, MA
National Council of Jewish Women AFFIRM Conference, Minneapolis, MN
National Gender Development Research Conference, San Francisco, CA
Nishmah: The Jewish Women’s Project, St. Louis, MO
Planned Parenthood of Northern California
Professional Business Women of California, State Conference, Los Angeles, CA
The Renfrew Center Foundation Annual Conference, Philadelphia PA
Santa Clara County Women’s Health Conference, South San Francisco, CA
Schoolgirls Symposium, Santa Fe, NM
Seattle Conference on Gender Equity, Seattle, WA
Western States Girl Scout Leadership Council Conference, Carmel, CA
The White House Council on Women and Girls, Washington, DC
Women for a New Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Foundation of California, Los Angeles, CA
Womentum Conference, Jackson Hole, WY
Write On Mamas, Mill Valley, CA
OTHER
5×15 Speakers Series, London, England
Alta Bates Hospital, Grand Rounds
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, national convention
American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists, national conference
American Society of Reproductive Medicine, annual meeting
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Larkspur, CA
Chelsea Art Museum, New York, NY
Club Book, Woodbury, MN
Commonsense Media, Los Angeles, CACommonsense Media, San Francisco, CA
Darien Community Association, Darien, CT
Edina Morningside Church, Edina, MN
Fox Rothschild LLP, Minneapolis, MN
Google, Los Angeles, CA
Google, Seattle, WA
Hendrik Hudson Free Library & The Field Library, Peekskill, NY
The Heartland Fall Forum, Chicago, IL
Hudson Library and Historical Society, Hudson, OH
Illusion Theater, Minneapolis, MN
International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, national conference
Illinois State Women and Families Conference
Jewish Community Center, San Francisco
Jewish Community Center, Syracuse, NY
Jewish Family Services, Los Angeles, CA
Jewish Cultural Center, London, England
Jewish Learning Works, San Francisco, CA
Juvenile Justice Workers annual conference, Minneapolis, MNMen Advocating Real Change (MARC) Conference (virtual)
Moving Traditions, Elkins Park, PA
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
National Social Venture Network Conference, Cincinnati, OH
The Newton Partnership, Newton, MA
Notes and Words benefit, Oakland, CA
Parents’ Coalition, San Francisco, CAPublic Library, Napa, CA
Public Library, Lafayette, CA
Public Library, Pleasanton, CA
St. Joseph Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
SMART ART annual conference on reproductive technology, Las Vegas, NE
Smart Sex Salon, Minneapolis, MN
South by Southwest Festival
TEDWomen conference
Time, Inc., New York, NY
Tribeca 92nd Street Y, New York, NY
VCU Massey Cancer Center, Richmond, VA
UCSF Children’s Hospital, Oakland, Grand Rounds
Wilmington Institute Library, Wilmington, DE
Writer’s Bloc Literary and Cultural Series, Los Angeles, CA
YPO Rocky Mountain, Denver, CO