Body Projects of Young Women of Color in Physics: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Science
- 1 November 2005
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Social Problems
- Vol. 52 (4), 593-617
- https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2005.52.4.593
Abstract
Most research on underrepresented members in science focuses on gender or on race/ethnicity, ignoring intersections embodied by women of color. This article, which draws from a qualitative, longitudinal study, addresses this gap by focusing on ten minority female physics students who negotiate three incongruent realms: field of study, gender, and race/ethnicity. It examines ways in which these students sense that their belonging and competence in science are questioned because their bodies do not conform to prevalent images of the “ordinary” white male physicist. To persevere in physics, they engage in bodily projects of (1) approximating ordinariness through fragmentation, which entails using strategies of racial or gendered “passing,” or (2) rejecting these practices in favor of multiplicity, which entails employing stereotype manipulation or performances of superiority. By highlighting accounts of individuals who persevere in the elite physics field, this article provides insight into how university departments should reform to promote more women and underrepresented minorities in science.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Resistance as a Social Drama: A Study of Change‐Oriented EncountersAmerican Journal of Sociology, 2004
- Resisting Vulnerability: The Social Reconstruction of Gender in InteractionSocial Problems, 2002
- The Locker Room and the Dorm Room: Workplace Norms and the Boundaries of Sexual Harassment in Magazine EditingSocial Problems, 2002
- Women’s responses to an activity-based introductory physics programAmerican Journal of Physics, 1999
- Conformity Pressures and Gender Resistance among Transgendered IndividualsSocial Problems, 1998
- A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance.American Psychologist, 1997
- U.S. Women in Science and Engineering, 1960-1990: Progress Toward Equity?The Journal of Higher Education, 1995
- Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 2: Designing problems and structuring groupsAmerican Journal of Physics, 1992
- Statistically nonrepresentative stratified sampling: A sampling technique for qualitative studiesQualitative Sociology, 1986
- Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science: Strains and Interests in Professional Ideologies of ScientistsAmerican Sociological Review, 1983