From chilly climate to warm reception : experiences and good practices for supporting LGBTQ students in STEM

Queer(y)-ing Technical Practice: Queer Experiences in Student Theater Productions at a Technical University

“…Yet it is also a distinctly queer (as in strange) space: it is closed off from the general student body, its small wooden frame is dominated by giant concrete and brick buildings around it, and it functions as a technical and artistic space for both work and pleasure. Identifying the Barn as a queer space that fits uncomfortably within the social/technical binary, physically and culturally, mirrors the feelings some queer STEM students may feel when in the "chilly climate" of STEM education towards difference [4].…”

“…To summarize these levels, the Barn is queer as in gay, queer as in strange, and queer as in theory. 4 In contrast to the towering academic centers that surround it, the Barn Theatre functions as a different sort of center-a subversive one-sub-for its place beneath the others, and -verse for its turn from the way things are. 5 "Oh, You're a Gay Woman with a Boyfriend Too?"…”

“…To avoid tokenization, research has tried to describe the lived experiences of queer STEM students and practitioners so that harm can be systematically identified and responded to. That work has identified a decidedly "chilly climate" toward queer people in STEM fields, and a need to explore how STEM fields might demonstrate increased understanding of and respect for queer persons and their experiences [4], [5]. This present study presents yet another way to consider diversity in STEM, by attempting to identify technical practice that might be considered "queer" in a broad senseby being of, by, for, or regarding queer persons-and by understanding how these practices might challenge, recapitulate, and complement "non-queer" technical practices and education.…”