Investigating students' gender expression and its relation to sense of belonging in introductory physics courses

TL;DR

This study explores how gender expression influences students' sense of belonging in physics courses, revealing pressures to conform to gender norms that affect their comfort and inclusion.

Contribution

It introduces a qualitative approach focusing on gender expression to understand its impact on students' belonging in physics, expanding prior quantitative research.

Findings

Students feel pressure to present masculinely to fit in.

Femininely presenting students often feel they stand out.

Gender expression influences perceptions of belonging and inclusion.

Abstract

Despite nation efforts to promote diversity and inclusion, women and gender minorities remain underrepresented in physics. One common approach to studying gender in physics contexts treats gender as a categorical identity variable (e.g. "man," "woman"). In contrast, approaches that center gender expression focus on the nuanced and context-dependent ways in which gender is socially enacted and interpreted. They are therefore well-suited for exploring how gender permeates the small-scale interactions that ultimately shape students' persistence and perceptions of inclusivity. In the present study, we utilized gender expression as a lens to investigate gendered patterns in introductory undergraduate physics students' sense of belonging in the discipline. Specifically, this qualitative investigation expands on our previous quantitative work to investigate why students may feel misperceived by their peers in physics and how that experience influences their belonging. Results indicated that students' sense of belonging may be impacted by perceived pressures to alter their gender expression in physics contexts. Many interviewees expressed a felt need to present themselves more "masculinely" to fit in. Contrastingly, pressure to present "femininely" was most often associated with standing out. Implications for supporting students' authentic self-ex in physics contexts are discussed.