In modern America, Pride penetrates all. The nation’s new mission is inclusivity, and every sector must include it.
At the very least, these statements seem to be more true.
Arizona State University Professor Katelynn Cooper has done her part. Her concern about the absence of LGBT participants in biology research led her to create a new laboratory.
Source: NBC News
Katelyn Cooper (34), was an undergrad student in biochemistry at Arizona State University. At the time, she was afraid of coming out as gay. She said this was largely because science classrooms and labs have traditionally been seen as objective spaces where “who you are doesn’t matter.”
But she wanted to matter, and that might be accomplished by discovering her instructors’ sexual interests:
“It felt pretty lonely as an undergrad,” Cooper told NBC News. “I remember admiring so many of my instructors in science and looking for any sign that anyone else maybe didn’t identify as straight or cisgender, because I just wanted some example of someone who had made it in science as an LGBTQ+ person.”
Katelyn earned her doctorate in biology and is now an assistant professor in ASU’s school of life sciences. She’s making moves to put the “L,” “G” and “B” in biology; and she’s adding a “T” and “Q”:
[C]Opper is currently conducting research that has been funded by the federal government to find ways of creating more inclusive learning environments at college level for biology students. The Cooper Biology Education Research Lab, which she founded in 2019, focuses on understanding how students’ identities and mental health affect their experiences in biology education.
Science has been straight and white for too long; also expired: acceptable male dominance…
The goal isn’t just to make classrooms more inclusive, she explained, but to bring more diversity to a field that has traditionally been dominated by straight white men.
Katelyn believes that objective science is better when there’s subjective variation.
“If people can bring different perspectives to the table, then we’re doing a better job of counteracting biases, and that results in much more robust science. That’s really what led me to want to sustain this line of research looking at how to create more inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ people.”
Recent LGBT-laced adaptations have been a big hit in the sciences. Particularly, in the afternoon of America, it’s “T” time:
University Renames Its Women’s Clinic Because ‘Women’ Was Medically Inaccurate
Breastfeeding Academy Bails on ‘Breasts’
NYU Nursing School launches a course on how to care for LGBT Folx
Hospitals Are Starting to Ask Men if They’re Pregnant
Social justice in general is getting a scientific salute:
Major University Professor Fights Math’s ‘Harbor for Whiteness’
Academics Attack the ‘Whiteness in Introductory Physics’
Science Journal Accuses Racism in Geology; Claims Black People are Too Scared To Hold On to Hammers
The Science is Settled: Whiteboards in Physics Are Racist
Will it be of any consequence if a biologist comes out as a lesbian or not? If science as I understand it is, maybe not.
America is becoming more reluctant to give up on such an opportunity.
NBC’s coverage of Katelyn is part of a larger endeavor amid June inclusion. According to the outlet, this article was introduced:
NBC Out celebrates Pride Month by highlighting and celebrating a new group of LGBTQ newsmakers, creators, and trailblazers. You can find the complete #Pride30 list right here.
Others on this list include:
- First Gay Man on Playboy’s Cover
- First Transgender NCAA Champion
- The Illustrator of Queer Latinx Life
- Two-spirit Indigenous Dancer
- Indigenous Advocate and Scholar
- Entertainer Multi-Hypenate
- Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Activist
- Trans Athlete Suing Tennessee
It’s an inclusive world, indeed.
Back to Katelyn, she and fellow researchers have “produced several major studies investigating the challenges of being an LGBTQ student or educator in a biology classroom.” And now, they’re developing “recommendations for how educators can make their biology classrooms more inclusive.”
Surely it’s only a matter of time before those suggestions are #included.
-ALEX
You can find more of my content here:
New Study: America’s Faith in God Is at an All-Time Low
NYU Nursing School launches a course on how to care for LGBT Folx
Man Tries to Give Blood Amid a Shortage, Is Rejected Because He Won’t Say Whether He’s Pregnant
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