Deborah Tolman

Deborah L. Tolman is a professor of Human Sexuality Studies and the Director of the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality at San Francisco State University. She received her Ed.D. in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1992. Before relocating to San Francisco, Deborah Tolman was a Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Gender and Sexuality Project at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. Dr. Tolman is a developmental psychologist whose research has focused on adolescent sexuality, gender development, gender equity and research methods. Her research has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Ford Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. Her book on adolescent girls’ sexuality, Dilemmas of Desire: Teenage Girls Talk about Sexuality, published by Harvard University Press in 2002, was awarded the 2003 Distinguished Book Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. Dr. Tolman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and has received wide recognition for her contributions to female adolescent development. Her current research program includes longitudinal studies of the role of sexual content on television and adolescent sexuality and a development study of gender, relationships and sexuality that focuses on how messages about masculinity and femininity affect boys’ and girls’ abilities to pursue healthy relationships. She is a frequent speaker at professional associations and schools.