ED007-0002
LGBTQ+ Scientists and Allies in the Agronomy, Crop, and Soil Science Societies: Sharing Stories and Enacting Change

Tuesday, 8 December 2020
Poster
Carolyn Anderson, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States, Michael Carlson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Lincoln, NE, United States, Geoffrey M. Koch, University of California Davis, Land, Air and Water Resources, Davis, CA, United States, Cara M. Peterson, University of Maryland, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, College Park, MD, United States, Christopher Ryan, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Earth and Environmental Sciences, New York, NY, United States, Maria Teresa Tancredi, University of Georgia, Crop and Soil Sciences, Athens, GA, United States and K.Ann Bybee-Finley, Cornell University, Soil & Crop Sciences, Ithaca, NY, United States
Abstract:
The LGBTQ+ Scientists and Allies specialty group in the Agronomy, Crop, and Soil Science Societies of America (Tri-Societies) was founded in 2017 and exists to create visibility and representation for LGBTQ+ issues. The group aims to be a resource for education, to provide mentorship opportunities, and to build a network of queer and allied scientists, students, and industry professionals both within the Tri-Societies and extending to external organizations. Here, we outline our group’s purpose and principles, and announce initiatives and events we have planned for the upcoming year. We provide contact information for engaging with the LGBTQ+ Scientists and Allies group and resources for continued education about the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Fitting with our mission of representation and advocacy, we feature an ongoing initiative to collect experiences of LGBTQ+ scientists in the fields of agronomy, crop, and soil sciences, and provide resources and action to mitigate harmful behaviors and structures. We provide an overview of LGBTQ+ harassment, discrimination, microaggressions, and biases in STEM in general and also in our respective fields. We strive to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ voices in our community, where everyone can share their experiences of fighting for inclusion and encountering obstacles, all while navigating the academic and professional rigors of our disciplines. To this point, we share several anonymous testimonials from queer-identifying scientists of their experiences in our fields. Additionally, we include reflections on bystander actions--or the lack thereof--that can address or perpetuate experiences of harassment, discrimination, microaggressions, and biases in the LGBTQ+ community, and provide resources for becoming an effective ally and bystander.

We are intentionally intersectional in our perspectives about how we, as LGBTQ+ scientists and allies in agronomy, crop, and soil sciences can work towards a more just and inclusive Tri-Societies and sciences in general. In this way, our community and advocacy will forefront race, class, gender, physical ability, and other identities to understand the unique dynamics generated with queer intersections. We welcome suggestions and ideas to further our mission.

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