Resource of the Week: #SciComm & #PrideMonth

Illustration of a sea slug (an undersea creature that looks a bit like a worm with horns). Slug is purple with yellow spots (not life-like representation). The slug's slime trail is rainbow-colored. The text reads: Sea Slugs are all simultaneous hermaphrodites.

Sea slugs are all simultaneous hermaphrodites (Illustration by/used with permission from Olivia V. Ambrogio, @SquidFan and @BaggageClam)

It is Pride Month! Here are a few resources on representation, inclusion, and intersectionality with science.

Stay tuned for more in our Resource of the Week series*, as the month progresses. As always, we’d love to hear your recommendations on additional resources to share in the series.

LGBTQ+ STEM DAY

“LGBTQ+ people in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) continue to struggle to openly be themselves (see: 2013 Queer in STEM survey2014 Factors Impacting The Academic Climate2015 American Physical Society survey2018 Coming out in STEM: Factors affecting retention of sexual minority STEM students). We believe that a day of recognition goes a long way in helping raise awareness and increase support.  It is an important component of the global push to increase diversity and inclusion in STEM.” See the event website and #LGBTSTEMDay on Twitter.

Twitter thread from Secret Gamer Girl (@SecretGamerGrrl) about inclusivity on Twitter

“Here’s something to think about: Trans people on twitter are constantly suspended because members of certain hate groups search for their groups’ names and mass-report every mention of them, and popular theory says the sheer volume of reporting has trained twitter’s moderation…Assuming this is an algorithm training issue, if everyone were to spend the rest of  spending just 15 minutes a day searching for certain terms and reporting hate speech, twitter’s algorithms should start recognizing them.” (Thread link)

Article Links:

  • @500QueerScientists: TwitterInstagram & website
  • @PrideInSTEM on Twitter & website
  • Lady Science‘s Queer Science series (link)
  • : virtual Pride 2019
  • Intersectionality as a Blueprint for Postcolonial Scientific Community Building by Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (link)
  • Which Pride Month Merchandise Actually Helps LGBTQ Causes? by Josh Ocampo (link) + 500 Queer Scientists’ merch
  • Curiosity and the end of discrimination by Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (link)
  • 5 LGBT Scientists Who Changed the World by Ashley Hamer (link)
  • Ain’t I a woman? At the intersection of gender, race and sexuality by Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (link)
  • During Pride Month, YouTube shows its true colors by Carlos Maza (link)
  • From Science Magazine: Visibility matters: A conversation with the co-founder of 500 Queer Scientists by Dr. Jyoti Madhusoodanan and Dr. Lauren Esposito (link)
  • From Nature: LGBTQ scientists are still left out by Dr. Jon Freeman (link)

*Note: We will also individually post these resources into the Resource of the Week series over time.