The Science Neutrality Narrative: How it can Harm or Affirm Students with Queer Genders and How to Make Space in Biology
Category: Research Poster
Author(s): Molly Turner
Presenter(s): Molly Turner
Mentors(s): Anne Marie Casper
There are various narratives present in undergraduate biology courses that impact students, including that of science as unbiased, or the "neutrality narrative.” This problematically situates science as separate from the social contexts it is performed in and the scientists who do it. In prior research with our sample of students with queer genders in biology-related majors from across the U.S. (n=54), some found the neutrality narrative to be harmful, while others found it to be affirming. In this study, we aim to identify the factors that influence this difference. We hope that our findings will help biology instructors to effectively teach how science is a socially/culturally situated form of knowledge in a way that supports student belonging. We used collaborative Reflexive Thematic Analysis, which allows the researcher(s) to identify salient themes in their data while still acknowledging the unique value of researcher positionality, with master narrative theory as our theoretical lens to analyze our aforementioned interviews, focusing on students who specifically discuss neutrality-related narratives (n=28). Our results will inform the teaching of content in a way that supports these students. The narratives within biology courses, lack of support from professors, discrimination from peers, and increased stressors outside of academics can all create an environment where it’s much harder for students with queer genders to succeed. This research may provide another means to support their journeys in biology, and science more broadly.