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Negotiating Queer Identities in STEM Undergraduate Research Experiences
Sat, August 9, 4:00 to 5:00pm, East Tower, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Floor: Ballroom Level/Gold, Grand Ballroom AAbstract
Limited data about queer students in higher education prevents us from understanding their experiences in college, including in STEM majors. LGB+ and TGNC students have been historically dispelled from the STEM academic pipeline due to a decreased sense of belonging and overwhelming cis-heteronormative STEM climate. However, in undergraduate research, a key element to STEM degrees, LGB+ and TGNC students participate at higher rates than their heterosexual and/or gender binary peers. Yet, there is little explanation for why queer students are overrepresented in undergraduate research but remain underrepresented in STEM majors. Using longitudinal interview data from the Mentor-Relate study, I explore the ways that students’ queer identities shape their undergraduate research experiences at National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site programs. I employ an intersectional approach to gender and sexuality with a focus on hegemonic masculinity in STEM higher education spaces. I find four themes that suggest that (1) some students experience feelings of belonging from queer mentors, (2) encounter allyship, (3) can have their queer identities suppressed, (4) and/or face microaggressions in their REU. These results suggest that systemic inequalities persist in STEM spaces and how queer students personally or academically connect with their REU is largely dependent on the degree to which they encounter discrimination and/or masculine culture in their program. These findings minimize the silence surrounding queer students in STEM as well as provide implications for how undergraduate research programs and STEM academia can better understand their queer student population to serve them with equal and inclusive opportunities.