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

Jul 11, 2025

Guest

Brandon Fairchild

Guest

Ethan Levine

Guest

Tom Waidzunas

In this insightful discussion, Tom Waidzunas, an associate professor at Temple University, Ethan Levine, a sociologist with a chemistry background, and Brandon Fairchild, a recent doctoral graduate, delve into the intricate journey of LGBTQ professionals in STEM. They explore the shift from radical activism in the 1970s to today's more corporate-influenced, individualistic climate. The trio discusses the challenges of true representation, the evolution of advocacy, and the urgent need for a justice-driven approach to inclusivity, urging a reevaluation of what inclusion really means.

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ANECDOTE

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.

INSIGHT

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.

ANECDOTE

Managing Queerness in STEM Workplaces

A Black and Latino gay man felt hyper-sexualized and had to manage his outness carefully.
This illustrates the burden of sanitizing queer identity to avoid workplace disruption.

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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.

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