Tuesday, August 3, 2010

LGBT scientists, where are you???

Ok, so as you probably all have assumed, I'm a white, straight female. So any comments I make in this area are just from personal experiences.

Is there a particular reason that I haven't met a great deal of LGBT science folks? Out of all the science people I've met over the years, I can safely say that I've only met about 10 sciencey people who are open. And out of those 10 people, I can safely say that they have all been really, really good at the science that they're interested in.

First, let's start off with a big fat "duh" factor: Obviously, every single category of person out there can do science.

But here's my question: Why have I met so few scientists who are out? I've met lots of people who are out over the years, but it's been rare that they've been in science, math, or engineering. I've met tons of gender studies, philosophy, art, theater, history, English, etc. majors.

Therefore, I've come to several different conclusions:
1. LGBT scientists are less likely to be open due to science culture itself.
2. Science culture is not a LGBT friendly environment.
3. All of us as scientists should do something.

But what? I have always respected people's privacy about their own lives, whether they are single and straight or married and gay. How can I voice my support without being accidentally condescending or treating people differently for their orientation? How can I change the system without being so passive of an ally?

I suppose I'll just go on treating everyone with respect and dignity, and hope that over time, everyone will do the same. But that feels a little naive. And hopefully this is just my narrow experience, and that it's a problem that I'm making up in my own head.

Ideas are appreciated.

9 comments:

  1. I am out, although in the scheme of things it's relatively safer for me to be out than other people. I'm a white, educated female who society sees as straight because I'm in a relationship with a guy. I'm actually bi (I have had relationships with girls in the past) and I am open about it to anyone who asks, but since I'm dating a guy, nobody really thinks to ask. It appears that I'm an invisible minority, but I don't know what to do about that, if anything.

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  2. I'm glad to hear that you feel safe to come out at your institution and don't feel that it would harm your career there. Do you think other people at your institution feel the same? What did allies there do to make you feel safe to reveal your orientation if you were asked?

    Or is it more of a personal decision that you would honestly answer if asked, no matter what environment? I've actually never asked anyone (people have told me when they felt comfortable), mostly because I don't go around asking straight people if they're straight.

    Does it bother you to be "an invisible minority"?

    Sorry for the tons of questions---I'm just ignorant and trying to figure out a better way to be an ally.

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  3. I'm not out but only because my sexuality doesn't get mentioned too much in conversation. Like Eco says, it does feel weird thinking everyne just sees me as "straight white female". I would come out if asked, no problem. I don't see how it would affect my career any, unless my PI was violently bi-phobic, in which case I probably wouldn't be working with them.

    Helps that my university is *very* gay friendly. I know quite a few LGB scientists (although no trans that I'm aware of). Some were 'out', some were just known about. One guy (who was awesome) had written on the back of his lab coat in marker pen "Warning: hits girls. Hits *on* guys."

    Yeah going around asking ppl if their gay can come out wrong :p

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  4. I don't think anyone really did anything, it's just part of my personality not to take steps to hide it. For instance, my labmates know because we socialize with one another and it has come up in conversation. My PI doesn't know because I don't socialize with him, therefore it hasn't had a reason to come up. If there was a reason for it, I would. My institution in particular is very gay-friendly (I suspect most large universities are) and gives its employees the ability to list a 'civil partner' to include in benefits and things of that nature if they aren't legally married.

    It does bother me that I'm an invisible minority, but like I said, there's really not much I can do about it. I am really averse to the type of behavior where gay people make being gay their whole personality, if you know what I'm talking about. The ones with the rainbow tattoos in their foreheads and gay shirts and gay backpack buttons and are always talking about being gay. I see why people do it, because it's the only way to make yourself visible, but I find it a bit annoying and self-indulgent. Bisexual isn't WHAT I am, it is just one of many adjectives that describe me, and I am many other things first, if that makes sense.

    So, yeah, aside from adopting 'gay' as a personality, I don't really know how to combat the invisible minority thing. If someone starts talking shit about gay folk, I obviously step in and make my point, but that happens so rarely (thank goodness).

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  5. LR: I *love* that lab coat.

    I'm glad to hear from you both that your situations are positive enough for you to feel comfortable in revealing that information. Hopefully people here at GSU do as well.

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  6. I know a gay student at a big university who once mentioned something about how "girl scientists always get surprised when they hear about a gay scientist", which I think points to the culture of science being not particularly friendly.
    Since science has such a history of male, white, heterosexual domination, and is still a field in which it is (sometimes, and becoming less of one as years go by) a struggle to recruit non-white scientists, and even sometimes just women (engineering, physics, I'm looking at you), it doesn't particularly surprise me that the institution and culture of science in general doesn't really encourage people to be out.

    Also, one other conclusion you might want to add to that list is:
    4. Humanities and social sciences are MORE friendly to LGBT, and therefore people with interests in both are more likely to study/go into those fields.
    I think humanities are much more opinion-based disciplines, and that the humanities, social sciences, and arts allow for much more self-expression and insertion of self into a person's work. Compared to science, which demands the 'objective' observer, and the removal of self from experiments, I can easily see how other fields would be considered more open and friendly, even when us poor scientists are not trying to be discriminatory or closed off.

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  7. Nami, that's a really good point. I guess I am very used to the "status quo," and so when encountering LGBT scientists, my own impressions of "the usual" come into play with my reaction.

    Anyways, I would love to start a dialogue about this topic with more input from the blogging community, so I'll attempt to come up with some good questions to further discuss being LGBT within the scientific community.

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  8. Well, to throw out one piece of raw data (for context, I'm 37), I have known quite a number of 'out' scientists myself. Certainly I would say that among my research students, I have had a greater-than-representative-of-the-population number of homosexual students, though never a student who was openly (at least to me) bi. Also, with colleagues I have known, I can think of gay and straight examples, but none that I knew was bi. Obviously, this is another example of the "silent minority". I myself am bi curious, but have never had a relationship with a man; I don't know whether that means that I'm actually bi and don't know it, or actually straight, but am wobbly. Your call.

    As a couple of people suggested at the margins, I think there's another effect here. In the humanities and social sciences, particularly in some fields, being gay, bi, or transgendered isn't *just* a deeply personal life choice, it's a badge of honor. It may be a badge that causes an enormous amount of heartache and pain in terms of relationships lost, hurtful things said, and family members who don't speak with you any more, but once you've gone through all that, there's at least the comfort of a support group that affirms your lifestyle and celebrates it.

    Science...um...doesn't have that. It's not so much that it's looked down on (though I'm not saying homophobia doesn't exist in science, it does) but that it isn't validated in the same sort of way as it would be in, say, a womens' studies department. Seeing as how it has nothing to do with the subject matter, it's very personal, and there isn't a culture of celebration, it's easy to see why people are less likely to bring it up in a science context.

    I'd totally agree with Nami's point, too; we don't have a culture in which "here's who I am" is relevant to "here's what I'm saying". The whole *point* of scientific findings is that they are equally reproducible by *anybody* (at least in theory). On the other hand, a trandgendered economist like Deirdre McCloskey writing about her experiences is interesting *because of who she is*.

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  9. Wow, thanks for sharing Minos. Another great comment that helps to broaden my views on this subject.

    Not sure if opening up a similar topic on my blog is going to happen/is appropriate for me to do so. I'm considering posting some questions and having people submit their thoughts, but I'm not sure. Anyways, thank you all for an informative and interesting discussion.

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