Culture Made Us Think Boys Are Smarter: My Guest Janice Kaplan Busts the Myth

Journalist and author Janice Kaplan (The Genius of Women) unpacks how culture and expectations—not innate ability—shape who gets seen as “genius.”

She shares research showing that by age six many girls stop associating “really smart” with women, and even well-meaning parents set the bar lower (like building gentler crawling ramps for baby girls).

Kaplan challenges the subtle scripts, from The Little Mermaid “give up your voice for love” to emails padded with “just” and constant self-deprecation, that teach girls to be likable over visible.

She spotlights women who defied doubt (including a Nobel-winning chemist and a leading AI researcher) and urges us to claim expertise, get seen, and “see beyond gender” (“I’m a woman who directs—not a ‘woman director’”).

Practical fixes: stop softening everything, call out minimizing language, balance princess culture with STEM role models, and invite men to be active allies.

Key takeaways

• Genius is cultivated: confidence + exposure + expectations > “born this way.”

• Girls start absorbing “smart = male” messages around age six; parents/teachers can counter it.

• Visibility matters: extraordinary work must meet audience attention to change the world.

• Swap apologetic habits (“just,” “not an expert…”) for clear, owned expertise.

• Invite allies: correct “play like a girl”-type language and model higher expectations for girls.