LGBTQ+ Science Students' Experiences, Perceptions, and Feelings of Discrimination in Their Science Departments.

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study is to better understand the climate for LGBTQ+ science major undergraduates in their departments through a transformative queer theory lens with intersectionality. Prior research demonstrates inclusion issues continue to persist for LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM. One such issue is discrimination in the form of microaggressions, which have been demonstrated to cause physical, mental, and academic harm. In the literature, there is limited information on how microaggressions impact students in particular STEM subfields. LGBTQ+ science undergraduates from public colleges and universities in one US Midwestern state were recruited via e-mail to participate in semi-structured interviews to learn about their experiences with and perspectives on microaggressions. Participants completed a first interview to learn more about their experiences, an online training related specifically to LGBTQ+ microaggressions, and a second interview. Emergent coding was utilized to capture the full perspectives of participants to follow themes related to the research questions and that the participants brought to the conversation. The study demonstrated LGBTQ+ science students are aware of potential issues, but many struggle to articulate the issues in ways they find meaningful. This paper explores the experiences LGBTQ+ science students described in their departments and other science spaces.