LGBT+ in the Sciences

As we’ve reflected on in previous Photos of the Month notes, many past and current physicists have faced setbacks due to exclusion, discrimination, harassment, and isolation, often related to gender, ethnicity, or race, yet have still made phenomenal contributions to the physical sciences. June is LGBT Pride Month in the United States, and so I’ve selected some archival images of physicists who identified either as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or any other non-cis/straight orientation, either during their career in science or later in life.

Various organizations, such as the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals , oSTEM , and lgbt+physicists , have formed to help create a more inclusive and welcoming field for LGBT+ students and scientists, but as this APS Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues report recommends, we have a long way to go until the profession is fully supportive of physicists who identify as LGBT+. This month, join me in looking back at the LGBT+ scientists (such as Sally Ride and Ron Buckmire ) who made their way through environments that often did not fully support them, and in reflecting upon our shared history from their points of view.