Representation within science

As a queer-identifying scientist, I don’t see or know many other queer scientists in my space around me,” says Dr. Jacob Dums, a molecular biology educator at North Carolina State University. However, this does not mean that LGBTQIA+ scientists do not exist.

A paper published in the Journal of Homo­sexuality in 2016 revealed that over 40 percent of the participants in an earlier survey of LGBTQIA+ STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workers had not told their colleagues about their sexuality.

The results of this survey shocked Dr. Lauren Esposito, a queer-identifying arachnologist specializing in scorpions who works at the California Academy of Sciences. Dr. Esposito wanted to increase the visibility and inclusion of LGBTQIA+ STEM workers within the field, so in 2018, she co-founded the group 500 Queer Scientists together with Sean Vidal Edgerton, an evolutionary virologist and science illustrator. LGBTQIA+ scientists such as Sally Ride, Lynn Conway, and Alan Turing were a source of inspiration to her.

Recognition

“Visibility doesn’t just make the queer-in-STEM community happier and more productive — it creates recognition of the accomplishments we’ve made, not in spite of our identities, but because of them,” Dr. Esposito told the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in an interview.

Since it was founded, the group 500 Queer Scientists has given queer-identifying scientists a platform where they can be seen and heard. LGBTQIA+ people working in STEM positions can submit short biographies and stories to the site. Although the site is called 500 Queer Scientists, it now has 1,625 profiles on it, and this number is growing. In 2019, Dr. Esposito received the Walt Westman Award from the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals for starting the group.

When Dr. Dums found the group on Twitter, he immediately knew that he wanted to be a part of it. “As I was growing up, it would have really helped me if I had known a queer scientist or had a queer mentor. I didn’t have that, but I can hopefully provide that for someone. That’s part of the reason that I submitted a profile. I wanted to put myself out there. This is my identity. I am stating it for the world, and there isn’t a tragic backstory. What I’m doing is totally possible, which is very different to the storyline that I grew up with,” Dr. Dums comments.

Dr. Dums completed his PhD in biology, focusing on algae biofuels and plant molecular biology. He then went on to get a postdoctoral research position at the University of Delaware. During this time, he did ecological research involving microbe interactions with plants. Although he enjoyed his research, he soon realized that he would prefer to teach and mentor students. Now, Dr. Dums teaches lab-based courses and gives lectures at North Carolina State University.

Breaking down barriers

Inclusion and accessibility within science are important to Dr. Dums. He also teaches a professional development and networking course that focuses on building connections within the field of biotechnology. He believes that breaking down barriers to entry not only brings diverse groups of scientists together, but also helps them to find better solutions to problems.

“Homogeneous groups don’t do nearly as good science as those that have all of these diverse opinions, backgrounds, values, and ways of looking at things. That definitely makes for much better research,”
Dr. Dums says.

According to him, it is important to remind people, including scientists themselves, that scientists are also humans. “We tend to have this picture in science that scientists’ emotions are not part of anything we do, that we are unbiased. That’s just not true. Acceptance is very important.”

Dr. Dums is just one of many scientists who have joined the group 500 Queer Scientists. Another scientist who created a profile on the site is Dr. Kelsey Stilson, a postdoctoral anatomy instructor at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. “Visibility is everything. I’m a scientist because I saw scientists that looked and talked like me on TV as I was growing up. When Star Trek: Discovery had a gay couple as a scientist and doctor just doing normal, everyday activities, I almost cried. Queer people are just people. It is the constant reminder that we are in a different ‘box’ that is detrimental to a person’s mental well-being over time.” For Dr. Stilson, the platform 500 Queer Scientists helps people to understand that they all have a chance to have a successful scientific career, regardless of their sexual orientation.

That queer-identifying STEM workers and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community can still be legally discriminated against by their employers in 28 U.S. states makes the need for increased visibility and inclusion in this sector even clearer. Hetero­normative assumptions in STEM workplaces can also make LGBTQIA+ professionals feel unable to talk openly about their sexuality with colleagues, according to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Homosexuality.

For Dr. Esposito, 500 Queer Scientists was a way of making people feel less like outsiders and more like they were part of a community. “I felt very alone as a queer scientist,” she once revealed in an interview with Bustle. “I figured that if I felt that way in San Francisco, others might be feeling that way in much more hostile places.”