Transformation and Stasis: An Exploration of LGBTQA Students Prefiguring the Social Practices of Engineering for Greater Inclusivity

The field of engineering continues to suffer from the underrepresentation of non-dominant groups despite concerted efforts towards change, particularly with respect to increasing women’s participation in the field. One way transformation in disciplines happens is through learning and the co-constitution of individuals and practices; as new students become engineers, they shape and transform the practice. In this article, I explore if and how a group of students are transforming the field of engineering through a process of prefiguration to be more inclusive of sexual orientation with the view that gender and sexual orientation intersect in meaningful ways. Based on ethnographic data and qualitative interviews, my findings suggest that students are able to change some aspects of engineering practice related to sexual identity, but that these changes have yet to impact the experience of gendered inequity. Despite increased recognition of sexual orientation in engineering, women continue to experience discrimination that men do not. Rather than remain defeatist in attempts to reach gender parity in the field, I conclude that prefiguration offers hope that it could be otherwise.