Rachel Simmons is an American author of the book ''Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls'' published in 2002. ()

Background

Simmons graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

and was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

where she began studying female aggression. She is a native of

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

, her mother Claire is a Jewish historian and her father

Luiz R. S. Simmons Luiz R. S. Simmons (born January 27, 1949) is an American politician who represented the 17th legislative district of the state of Maryland in the Maryland House of Delegates. The 17th district is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgome ...

is an attorney and was a member of the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...

. On September 1, 2009, Simmons was interviewed on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

about her new book "The Curse of the Good Girl". In March 2011, Rachel Simmons gave a speech about empowering girls to Qualters Middle School in Mansfield, Massachusetts to sixth and seventh grade girls. On April 6, 2015, Simmons was the keynote speaker at the "Educating Girls: Be Well, Lead Well" conference held in New York City and sponsored by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the National Coalition of Girls Schools. On 29 June 2015, Simmons featured on episode #255 of the comedian

Ari Shaffir Ari David Shaffir (born February 12, 1974) is an American comedian, actor, podcaster, writer, and producer. He produced and hosted the ''Skeptic Tank'' podcast from 2010 to 2023. He now hosts the podcast "You Be Trippin'" where he discusses trav ...

's podcast "

Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank Ari David Shaffir (born February 12, 1974) is an American comedian, actor, podcaster, writer, and producer. He produced and hosted the ''Skeptic Tank'' podcast from 2010 to 2023. He now hosts the podcast "You Be Trippin'" where he discusses trav ...

" Simmons and Shaffir attended high school together and reminisced about their past, Simmons also explains the process of artificial insemination and all that goes along with it. Simmons is the Girls Research Scholar in Residence at The

Hewitt School The Hewitt School is a K-12 independent girls' school located on New York City's Upper East Side. The school teaches girls to become ethical leaders. The school serves girls in three divisions: Lower School (K-4), Middle School (5-8), and Upper S ...

in New York City.

Films

* ''

Odd Girl Out ''Odd Girl Out'' is a 2005 drama telefilm starring Alexa Vega, Lisa Vidal, Elizabeth Rice, Alicia Morton, Leah Pipes, Shari Dyon Perry, Joey Nappo, and Chad Biagini. First aired April 4, 2005 on Lifetime, the film is based on the book ''Odd ...

'' was made into a TV film starring

Alexa Vega Alexa Ellesse PenaVega ( Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the first four '' Spy Kids'' films and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the title cha ...

. * ''A Girl's Life'', 2009

Writings

* ''Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls''. New York: Harcourt, 2002. * ''Odd Girl Speaks Out: Girls Write About Bullies, Cliques, Popularity, and Jealousy''. Orlando, Fla: Harcourt, 2004. * ''The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence''. New York: The Penguin Press, 2009. * ''Enough as She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy, and Fulfilling Lives'': New York: Harper, 2018 * ''Perfectionism among teens is rampant (and we’re not helping)'' Newspaper Article in the Washington Post, January 25, 2018

References

External links

Official Site
*
Teenage Girls And Social Media: Tips For Parents From A Best-Selling Author

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

, August 8, 2011
Rachel Simmons
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America''
Ari Shaffir's ''Skeptic Tank'' episode #255
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Rachel 1974 births Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish women writers American people of Brazilian-Jewish descent American Rhodes Scholars Vassar College alumni Living people American women non-fiction writers People from Rockville, Maryland 21st-century American Jews