Why is it that we think boys are good at math and girls are more empathetic? Or that boys can’t focus in the classroom and girls are obsessed with relationships? These sometimes damaging gender stereotypes have become part of our culture, but are they backed up by science? Neuroscientist Lise Eliot says our default assumption is that our gender differences are hardwired, but that’s not the case. In her book Pink Brain Blue Brain, she uses research and her work on neuroplasticity to debunk our traditional thinking. She speaks with Michael Kimmel, sociology and gender studies professor at Stony Brook University.

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