"I Am a Discount STEM Major": A Young Black Woman's Counterstory as a STEM Person

• In Event: STEM Matters: The Importance of Centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Students

Abstract

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines struggle with historical racism and sexism that perpetuate stereotypes about who belongs and is recognized as a legitimate STEM person. Black women and girls exist at interlocking domains of oppression including but not limited to race, gender, and the power dynamics of who belongs in STEM. This study gives voice to one Black woman, Sara, as she tells her counterstory as a “discount STEM major”, where she describes why she left a defined STEM major but maintains her love for physics by focusing on science fiction as a calling in her English major. Sara’s counterstory highlights where science educators need to focus social justice efforts at both the K-12 and college levels.

Authors

• Amal Ibourk, Florida State University

• Roxanne M. Hughes, Florida State University

• Lauren Wagner, Florida State University