Rate My Professor Pepper Schwartz

Pepper Schwartz is a renowned sociologist and sexologist specializing in social science topics such as intimate relationships, family, sexuality, and gender. She earned her B.A. and M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University in 1974. Throughout her distinguished career, Schwartz has authored or co-authored 25 books that bridge academic research and popular audiences, several achieving New York Times bestseller status. Key works include The Normal Bar: The Surprising Secrets of Happy Couples and 10 Talks Parents Should Have with Children About Sex and Character, both bestsellers; Fifty Great Myths of Human Sexuality (2015, co-authored with Martha Kempner); Snap Strategies for Couples: 40 Fast Fixes for Everyday Relationship Pitfalls; Peer Marriage (1994); American Couples: Money-Work-Sex (1983, with Philip Blumstein); Prime: Adventures and Advice on Sex, Love, and the Sensuous Years (2007); The Gender of Sexuality: Exploring Sexual Possibilities (1998, with Virginia Rutter); and Women at Yale: Liberating a College Campus (1971, with Janet Lever).

Her contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the American Sociological Association's award for public understanding of sociology, a 2014 book award, and a 2014 faculty award from her university's Greek community. Schwartz has held influential leadership roles, serving as past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and the Pacific Sociological Association. She has also been AARP's Love & Relationship Expert and Ambassador for more than a decade and sits on the board of the University of Minnesota's program on human sexuality, where a professorship is named in her honor. Beyond academia, her impact is evident in public lectures and media appearances on programs like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dateline, Dr. Phil, and Married at First Sight, as well as her advice column "The Naked Truth" and roles as sexuality adviser for WebMD and co-creator of the dating site Perfectmatch.com. Schwartz's work continues to shape scholarly and public discourse on relationships and sexuality.