December 10, 1999

A Leading Gender Theorist Explains How Feelings Shape Who We Are

By PETER MONAGHAN

Nancy Chodorow's new research on personality challenges the postmodern emphasis on culture

First, Nancy J. Chodorow changed feminism.

Her 1978 study of the way girls grow up to be mothers, The Reproduction of Mothering (University of California Press), eventually persuaded most of her fellow feminists to pay attention to psychoanalysis.

Many resisted, initially.

The book started out as Ms. Chodorow's doctoral dissertation. As she worked on her argument, she had a

Digital or Print Subscription

Web Pass

Already have an account? Log In Now.