She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a doctorate in Latin American history. She also earned a master's degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She has been published in elite publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Harper's Bazaar. Burkett was also a professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism for 13 years. She has a high level of education and is an elite journalist. Burkett believes passionately in feminism and the power of women. Many writers agree with what Burkett sets out in his book “What Makes a Woman?” article. Jaclyn Friedman “finds much of the nature versus nurture argument over transness to be a snooze, for reasons Burkett herself lays out in the essay” (Friedman). Barbara Cohn Schlachet believes Burkett's article was "brilliant" and feels the same way about the social constructions of transgender people (Schlachet). Dana Beyer, however, disagrees with Elinor Burkett and believes that she "knows nothing" about the experience of being a woman "before and after transition" (Beyer). Elinor Burkett is very honest about what she thinks about the transgender movement. She presents the news and tells readers what she thinks about it. Burkett is a direct writer and does not lighten the position on the opposition between nature and culture.