Intellectual Compatibility? Undergraduate Women Narrate Intimate Relationships and STEM Academic Identities

• In Event: Gender Narratives and Institutional Contexts

Abstract

Research suggests that intimate relationships are an important aspect of undergraduate social contexts and academic trajectories. While scholars have explored gender inequality in undergraduate STEM fields from many directions, few recent studies have explored how women pursuing STEM majors are influenced by intimate relationships. This paper begins to address this gap by asking: How do undergraduate women STEM majors construct connections between their intimate relationships and their academic life? Through qualitative analysis of 26 in-depth interviews, I find that participants position intimate partners as academic supports and intellectual companions, place partners as academic competitors, and identify academic spaces as sites of relationship initiation and management. These findings suggest that intimate relationships may frame women STEM majors’ academic experiences and self-assessments.

Author

• Elizabeth E. Blair, University of Wisconsin - Madison