Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow Into Troublesome Gaps—And What We Can Do About It

A scientific study of the differences between boys & girls that tackles damaging gender stereotypes and offers practical guidance for parents & educators.

In the past decade, we’ve heard a lot about the innate differences between males and females, so we’ve come to accept that boys can’t focus in the classroom and girls are obsessed with relationships.

In Pink Brain, Blue Brain, neuroscientist Lise Eliot turns that thinking on its head. Presenting the latest science from birth to puberty, Eliot zeroes in on the precise differences between boys and girls, reining in harmful stereotypes. She argues convincingly that infant brains are so malleable that what begin as small differences at birth become amplified over time, as parents and teachers—and the culture at large—unwittingly reinforce gender stereotypes.

The good news is that by appreciating how sex differences emerge—rather than assuming them to be fixed biological facts—we can help all children reach their fullest potential. Eliot offers teachers and parents concrete ways to help close the troubling gaps between boys and girls ultimately end the gender wars that currently divide us.