New Books Network Tom Waidzunas et al., "Out Doing Science: LGBTQ STEM Professionals and Inclusion in Neoliberal Times" (UMass Press, 2025)
Tom Waidzunas' STEM Journey
- Tom Waidzunas left engineering due to lack of workplace safety for being gay.
- He became a sociologist to advocate for LGBTQ visibility in STEM institutions.
Phases of LGBTQ STEM Inclusion
- LGBTQ STEM inclusion has evolved through phases reflecting social and political shifts.
- Initially oppositional, later becoming assimilationist under neoliberalism's influence.
The Hidden Costs of LGBTQ Inclusion in STEM under Neoliberalism
LGBTQ inclusion in STEM has evolved through phases from radical activism to a more assimilationist and professional development approach shaped by neoliberalism.
While inclusion initiatives like employee resource groups (ERGs) offer visibility and some protections, they also impose considerable self-policing and sanitization pressures on LGBTQ professionals, requiring them to be "non-disruptive" and conform to heteronormative norms.
The dominant business and innovation justifications for inclusion often reduce LGBTQ identities to utilitarian assets, which risks marginalizing justice and equity concerns and makes inclusion fragile and conditional on profit motives.
As Brandon Fairchild explains, LGBTQ STEM professionals often feel compelled to "outdo" their peers to prove their value, navigating a precarious balance of being visible but respecting corporate norms.
The book calls for a more radical, politicized queer STEM movement that disrupts rather than assimilates and pushes back against the depoliticization and neoliberal framing of inclusion.
