Finding community and overcoming barriers: experiences of queer and transgender postsecondary students in mathematics and other STEM fields

Kersey, Elizabeth; Voigt, Matthew

doi:10.1007/s13394-020-00356-5

Cited by 41 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Queer students, as a result, have limited access to curricular affirmation of their lived experiences and justice-oriented STEM goals (Cech & Waidzunas, 2011; Miller & Downey, 2020). Normalizing cisgender and heterosexual identities in STEM curricula also contributes to queer students feeling that their gender and sexuality are inappropriate to engage as well as being more affirmed in social sciences and humanities (Hughes, 2017; Kersey & Voigt, 2020). Documented disruptions of queer erasure in STEM curricula include integration of theoretical perspectives from more socially oriented disciplines (Linley et al, 2018) and project-based learning centered on queer justice (Boudreau et al, 2019).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Queer Students’ Counter-Stories of Invisibility in Undergraduate STEM as a White, Cisheteropatriarchal Space

Leyva¹,

McNeill²,

Balmer

et al. 2022

American Educational Research Journal

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Black queer undergraduates experience invisibility at the juncture of anti-Black racism and cisheteropatriarchy in their campus environments. With the absence of research on queer students of color in undergraduate STEM, it has been unexplored how Black queer invisibility is reinforced and disrupted in uniquely racialized and cisheteronormative STEM spaces. Drawing on Black queer studies and a proposed framework of STEM education as a White, cisheteropatriarchal space, our study addresses this research gap by exploring four Black queer students’ experiences of oppression and agency in navigating invisibility as STEM majors. A counter-storytelling analysis reveals how curricular erasure and within-group peer tensions shaped variation in undergraduate Black queer students’ STEM experiences of invisibility. Findings inform implications for education research, practice, and policy.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Queer Students’ Counter-Stories of Invisibility in Undergraduate STEM as a White, Cisheteropatriarchal Space

Leyva¹,

McNeill²,

Balmer

et al. 2022

American Educational Research Journal

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“…These findings demonstrating the negative environment in STEM for SGM students are bolstered by several other studies [ 40 – 42 ], such as Bilimoria and Stewart who document that heterosexuality is often assumed by others in STEM [ 43 ] or Woodford and colleagues who show how hearing the phrase “That’s so gay” impacted students’ social and physical well-being [ 44 , 45 ]. STEM departments are suggested to be chilly in comparison to others (such as social sciences) that are warm to SGM students [ 21 , 26 , 42 , 46 ]. Differences among STEM fields, such as the life sciences and physical sciences, in biases against SGM students also likely exist given the demonstrated differences between the fields in biases against women [ 27 ].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent years have seen more work on SGM students in STEM, with the most recent studies paying attention to students’ cognitive reactions or resilience as well as their social capital rather than simply their academic-climate related obstacles. For instance, Kersey and Voigt found that SGM students’ sense of resilience was usually combined with a deep desire to pursue STEM, that students persisted in STEM as a form of resistance, and that professional SGM societies were a powerful support for student resilience [ 46 ]. Miller and colleagues’ work on SGM STEM persistence focused on the behavioral and cognitive strategies students used to navigate the hypermasculine “Dude” or “Bro” culture in STEM, including participating in it, resisting it, traversing liminal parts of it, blending into it, or rationalizing it [ 69 ].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual and gender minority undergraduates’ relationships and strategies for managing fit in STEM

et al. 2022

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Undergraduates with sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, pansexual, intersexual, asexual, or additional positionalities, often face an unwelcoming STEM microclimate. The STEM microclimate includes the places students experience, such as classrooms or labs, and the people, such as peers or professors, with whom they discuss their STEM program. While previous work offers a framework of microaggressions faced by SGM people, and the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional strategies they use to react to them, little is known about the strategies SGM students use to persist in the STEM microclimate. We analyze interviews with 29 SGM STEM undergraduates to uncover how they fit in STEM, their experiences that affect fit, how social capital in the form of influential others affects fit, and the strategies used to deal with microaggressions and cultivate a supportive network. Using thematic analysis, we find that students vary in their feelings of fit, with students with gender minority identities experiencing more frequent and more severe microaggressions than students with sexual minority identities (which are often less visible). We likewise find that students with racial minority identities report compounding issues related to identity. SGM students with social capital, or a network of people to whom they can turn in order to access advice and resources, believe they fit in better than those without such capital. To support their feelings of fit, students use defenses against discrimination, including micro-defenses, wherein they change how they present their self to avoid microaggressions and/or surround themselves with accepting people. This research highlights the role of microaggressions and social capital in affecting fit as well as the micro-defenses students use to defend against discrimination. Our introduction of the concept of micro-defenses provides a way to theorize about micro-interactional dynamics and the site at which students defend against microaggressions so they feel more welcome in STEM. Implications provide insight into how SGM students can be supported in STEM as well as the institutional changes STEM departments and campuses can make in order to better support and include SGM students.

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“…Due to historic and contemporary exclusion and marginalization, underrepresented groups continue to face significant challenges in STEM [ 1 – 4 ]. Among these challenges are damaging stereotypes, hostile educational environments, discrimination, and complexities related to socioeconomic status [ 5 – 7 ]. Nonetheless, underrepresented scholars continue to lead the charge in pushing for equity, diversity, inclusion, and the exchange of diverse ideas within scientific disciplines [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anchoring yourself in your community will bring a myriad of benefits, including creating safe spaces for you to share your personal experience and having people who understand your struggles navigating your degree first hand [ 5 , 25 , 34 ]. For example, as an international student, you may benefit from relating to others about financial, social, and academic obstacles that are unique to the international student experience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten simple rules for succeeding as an underrepresented STEM undergraduate

et al. 2022

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Undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds (e.g., Black, Indigenous, and people of color [BIPOC], members of the Deaf community, people with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, from low-income backgrounds, or underrepresented genders) continue to face exclusion and marginalization in higher education. In this piece, authored and edited by a diverse group of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) scholars, we present 10 simple rules for succeeding as an underrepresented STEM undergraduate student, illuminating the “hidden curriculum” of STEM specifically as it relates to the underrepresented undergraduate experience. Our rules begin by encouraging students to embrace their own distinct identities and scientific voices and explain how students can overcome challenges unique to underrepresented students throughout their undergraduate degrees. These rules are derived from a combination of our own experiences navigating our undergraduate STEM degrees and the growing body of literature on improving success for underrepresented students.

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Finding community and overcoming barriers: experiences of queer and transgender postsecondary students in mathematics and other STEM fields

Cited by 41 publications

References 34 publications

Black Queer Students’ Counter-Stories of Invisibility in Undergraduate STEM as a White, Cisheteropatriarchal Space

Black Queer Students’ Counter-Stories of Invisibility in Undergraduate STEM as a White, Cisheteropatriarchal Space

Sexual and gender minority undergraduates’ relationships and strategies for managing fit in STEM

Ten simple rules for succeeding as an underrepresented STEM undergraduate

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