The Genius of Women is not easy to review. Janice Kaplan’s book, subtitled “From Overlooked to Changing the World” is filled with compelling stories of female artists, scientists, mathematicians who were forgotten, who found a way to overcome the period in which they lived, and women who are overcoming obstacles today. Those stories are compelling. However, as she says, these are only the stories of women whose names we know. What happened to women who did not have opportunities?

Even if you don’t take the time to read all of The Genius of Women, it doesn’t hurt to read the preface. In a recent poll, 90% of Americans said that geniuses tended to be male. And, most of them could only name one woman they would have thought of, Marie Curie. Some of Kaplan’s comments, based on her research and interviews, are heartbreaking. A male-centered world rejects women who are geniuses. She talks about “The huge potential of women that has been lost over the years, as well as the extraordinary achievements that have ignored.”Then, “Women buy into the system…We scare ourselves away from success long before anyone else sends us away.” Kaplan carries one thesis throughout the book. When she asked Charles James, a Cambridge University professor what was a genius, he responded, “Genius- where extraordinary ability meets celebrity.” Why have there been so few women geniuses? They’ve had the extraordinary ability. What they have not had is the recognition, the celebrity. Kaplan quotes a refrain from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton”, “Who lives. Who dies. Who tells your story.” For women, their story may not get told at all.

Many may have heard of Felix Mendelssohn’s sister, Fanny. She was a child prodigy herself, a talented composer and musician. She was brilliant, but when she was fourteen her father sent her a letter saying Felix could go on and have a career in music, but she could not. As a woman, Fanny found a way around her father’s earlier statement. She held private parties, and invited two hundred people so she could perform in her own house. It was always suspected that Fanny actually wrote some of her brother’s works, but it has been proven to be true. But, how was Fanny able to enjoy and celebrate her gift? “She found a way around her father’s earlier statement.”

Women have been forced to find their own path for centuries, whether it as been in art, or music, theater or comedy, law, politics, math, science, astronomy, computers. Kaplan discusses the role of women and their own careers with Geena Davis and Tina Fay. But, she spends the most amount of time with women in the sciences, women who are professors or won a Nobel Prize. Carol Anderson, a chaired professor of African American studies at Emory University is quoted as saying, “Racism and sexism and misogyny have cut off opportunities and potential and that has weakened the United States. It has hurt our ability to compete economically and destroyed lives.”

Kaplan enumerates traits that women geniuses have in common, and need – one supportive person, blinkers to bias, seeing beyond gender, a positive approach, a core belief that you belong, a multifaceted life. Her book is inspiring; it inspires pride and anger, though. How can anyone read  this paragraph, and not be angry at what has been lost? “Women geniuses throughout history have battled male power issues and structural deterrents that have kept them from flourishing to their fullest potential. Whether we think of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, the women painters of the Renaissance, Lise Meitner, or Hillary Clinton, admiration for what they accomplished is mixed with the wistfulness of what might have been. I am in awe of the women geniuses in the arts, sciences, and politics who are making enormous breakthroughs right now – and I am also stunned by the continued misogyny that dogs them.”

The Genius of Women is an upsetting, inspiring book. I’m doing what I can. I bought a copy for one of my nieces. She might just change the world.

Janice Kaplan’s website is www.janicekaplan.com

The Genius of Women: From Overlooked to Changing the World. Dutton. 2020. ISBN 9781524744212 (hardcover), 336p.

*****
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