Tom Waidzunas et al., "Out Doing Science: LGBTQ STEM Professionals and Inclusion in Neoliberal Times" (UMass Press, 2025)

Jul 11, 2025

Guest

Ethan Levine

Guest

Brandon Fairchild

Guest

Tom Waidzunas

In this discussion, Tom Waidzunas, an associate professor at Temple University, joins recent PhD graduate Brandon Fairchild and sociologist Ethan Czuy Levine to explore LGBTQ inclusion in STEM fields. They reveal how the pursuit of inclusion has shifted from activism to assimilation within neoliberal frameworks. Personal anecdotes highlight the challenges LGBTQ professionals face, from navigating corporate environments to balancing authenticity and acceptance. The conversation advocates for a transformative ‘queer STEM’ to challenge ongoing inequalities and foster genuine inclusivity.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Three Phases of LGBTQ STEM Inclusion

LGBTQ inclusion in STEM has evolved through three historical phases reflecting shifting social and political contexts.
Initial radical activism gave way to pro-capital assimilation under neoliberalism emphasizing individual advancement.

INSIGHT

Self-Policing in STEM Workplaces

LGBTQ STEM professionals often engage in self-policing to present as non-disruptive and highly valuable to fit existing norms.
This includes sanitizing queer identities through heteronormative respectability politics like showing partner pictures.

INSIGHT

ERG Limits in Workplace Inclusion

Employee resource groups (ERGs) help LGBTQ workers gain visibility but often serve corporate interests more than systemic change.
They provide access to management but limit autonomy and rarely challenge organizational power structures.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Over the past 50 years, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer professionals have organized to achieve greater inclusion into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This inclusion, however, has come at a cost. In the 1970s, these professionals sought to radically transform STEM fields by confronting the homophobia and sexism embedded within them. Instead, these fields became more corporatized and privatized, and STEM institutions and workspaces—particularly in the spheres of government and business—became dominated by a focus on individualism, self-improvement/advancement, and meritocracy, which are hallmarks of neoliberalism. For many LGBTQ STEM professionals, inclusion now required becoming more apolitical, pro-capital, and focused on professional development.
In Out Doing Science: LGBTQ STEM Professionals and Inclusion in Neoliberal Times (University of Massachusetts Press, 2025), Dr. Tom Waidzunas, Dr. Ethan Czuy Levine, and Dr. Brandon Fairchild explore this transformation of LGBTQ STEM professionals from oppositional outsiders to assimilationist insiders. Drawing on historical archives, oral interviews, and participant observation of professional societies and workspaces, the authors interrogate the meanings of “inclusion” and why some LGBTQ STEM professionals have benefited from it more than others. They also advocate for a “queer STEM” that challenges and transforms the racism, classism, sexism, cisheterosexism, and imperialism of these fields, institutions, and workspaces. Written in an accessible and engaging style, Out Doing Science will appeal to readers interested in LGBTQ studies, and science and technology studies, as well as anyone who wants to create a more diverse and inclusive work environment.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology