Off the Spectrum: The Lost Girls of Autism

For decades, autism research has focused overwhelmingly on boys and men, and some autism researchers even see autism itself as “masculine.” Drawing on her own decades of research with autistic women and girls, Neuroscientist Gina Rippon upends this view. Beyond highlighting autism’s manifestations in women and girls, Rippon’s research illuminates the entangled matter of gender/sex, autism, and neuroscience, and exposes the devastating effects of systemic gender bias in autism research and services.

An outspoken critic of the (mis)use of neuroscience research to shore up sexism (a trend she calls “neurotrash”), Professor Rippon will be in conversation with Barnard Professor and Director of BCRW, sociomedical scientist Rebecca Jordan-Young, to discuss her new book The Lost Girls of Autism (UK) / Off the Spectrum (US), which won the 2025 Popular Science Award from the British Psychological Society. This event is part of BCRW’s annual Roslyn Silver ‘27 Science Lecture series.

Additional information is available on the BCRW event page.

Gina Rippon is Professor Emeritus of Cognitive NeuroImaging at Aston University in the UK. Her research involves the use of state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques to investigate developmental differences such as autism, profiling different patterns of brain activity in autistic children and adults. Her recent book, Off the Spectrum, embeds this work in her exploration of the underrepresentation of girls and women in the autism story. In addition to her own research, Rippon has advanced the field through the promotion of research guidelines for accurate and transparent research, and is known for engaging presentations that are accessible to scientists and lay audiences alike.

Rebecca Jordan-Young is the Director of the Barnard Center for Research on Women and Ann Whitney Olin Professor of WGSS at Barnard College. Jordan-Young is the author of two award-winning books: Brain Storm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences (Harvard 2010) and Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography with Katrina Karkazis (Harvard 2019). She is an internationally recognized leader in gender & sexuality studies and feminist/intersectional science and technology studies, and a member of the international Neurogenderings Network.

Accessibility

This event is free and open to the public, and registration is required. ASL interpretation will be provided.