Headshot of Leora Tanenbaum

"Leora Tanenbaum is a woman who understands the impact of sexual harassment." — Oprah Winfrey


SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Leora Tanenbaum, author of six books, began researching and writing about slut-shaming before the term even existed. Her newest book is Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today’s Toxic, Sexist Culture, out on May 20, 2025.


Her first book, Slut!, called one of the 20 "must-read" books of all time for women, is regarded as a significant contribution to feminist thought and the foundational text on slut-shaming.
 
Tanenbaum has written for The New York Times, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, New York Daily News, The Nation, and U.S. News & World Report and has been a guest on Oprah, The Today Show, Nightline, Bill Maher, Fox News, MSNBC, and National Public Radio. She is a frequent commentator for USA Today, where she discusses the gendered double standards faced by celebrities and non-celebs alike.


LONG BIOGRAPHY

Leora Tanenbaum is an expert on slut-shaming who supports bodily autonomy for girls, women, and everyone. Author of six books, she is quoted and cited regularly in news stories, legal and academic journals, and social media.


Leora empowers people through information, analysis, and community. She demonstrates that "slut," "ho," and "thot" are more than insults; these words prop up thinking and behavior that harm us all.


She also is the editor-in-chief of the nonprofit organization Catalyst, which helps companies build inclusive workplaces that work for women. 


Leora is a frequent commentator for USA Today, where she discusses the gendered double standards faced by celebrities and non-celebs alike.


Leora has served as an expert witness, advising litigators defending the rights of women to control online images of their own bodies and to deter opposing lawyers from slut-shaming these women during legal proceedings. (To discuss engaging her as an expert witness, please reach out to Leora directly.)


Leora began researching and writing about slut-shaming before the term even existed. She coined “slut-bashing”—the precursor to “slut-shaming”—in 1999. “Slut-shaming” is now a recognized concept and field of study, and the term is used widely.


Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation (1999) is regarded as a significant contribution to feminist thought and the foundational text on slut-shaming. It is a staple in sociology, gender and women’s studies, and sexuality studies courses. When it was published, it shot up to become both an Amazon Editor's Choice Book and Amazon Top 10 Women's Studies Book. Oprah Winfrey featured Leora on her show as part of the Remembering Your Spirit series.


Slut! has been called one of the 20 “must-read” books of all time for women, alongside The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. It has been mandatory reading for all first-year students at Bryn Mawr College and has been featured in several documentaries. In 2006, it was banned from the public library in Wichita, Kansas, because it was deemed inappropriate according to community standards.


I Am Not a Slut: Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet (2015) was the first book to analyze the proliferation of slut-shaming in the age of social media and digital culture. It was named one of 11 "groundbreaking books about women making history."


Leora is also the author of Catfight: Rivalries Among Women (2002); Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality (2008); and Bad Shoes & The Women Who Love Them (2010). Her books are available in translation around the world.


Leora has written for The New York Times, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Newsday, New York Daily News, The Nation, and U.S. News & World Report. She has been a guest on Oprah, The Today Show, Nightline, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Fox News, MSNBC, and National Public Radio.


Leora lectures at conferences, book festivals, and community centers around the country and at campuses including Barnard, Boston University, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Hunter College, Sarah Lawrence, Spelman, Stanford, and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, among others. She is a regular guest lecturer at CUNY Graduate Center’s PhD program in sociology. She has been honored as a hero of her New York State Senate district for her intersectional advocacy for women's rights.


As a student at Brown University, Leora founded the first Jewish student magazine at the college, Mahberet, which went on to thrive for 30 years. Today, she continues her affiliation with Brown by serving as a member of the Advisory Council of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University.



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