National randomized experimental study finds no evidence of undergraduate bias against LGB biology instructors, even in LGB-unfriendly states

2025/03/05 by Carly A. Busch, Parth B. Bhanderi, Sara E. Brownell +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Gender, Feminism, and Media #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/biosci/biaf040

openalex publication_date 2025/03/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Long-standing stigma against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals in academic biology dissuades instructors from revealing their identities to undergraduates. The threat of consequences following disclosure is assumed to be exacerbated in states with LGBTQ+ "unfriendly" reputations. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a national randomized experimental study of 2230 undergraduate biology students to assess the impact of brief instructor LGBTQ+ disclosure. Participants were randomly assigned to watch one of two teaching demonstration videos and evaluate an instructor actor. The videos were identical except, in one version, the instructor revealed an LGB identity. Across all of the participants, the reveal condition yielded moderately improved evaluations of the instructor. Despite the participants in low LGBTQ+ acceptance states perceiving that their peers would view instructor LGBTQ+ disclosure negatively, the states' LGBTQ+ acceptance did not predict the students' evaluations of the instructor actor. These findings suggest that, regardless of a state's LGBTQ+ acceptance, undergraduates' perceptions of instructors were unaffected by brief LGBTQ+ disclosure.

Citations

• The disclosure processes model: Understanding disclosure decision making and postdisclosure outcomes among people living with a concealable stigmatized identity.
• Revealing Concealable Stigmatized Identities: The Impact of Disclosure Motivations and Positive First-Disclosure Experiences on Fear of Disclosure and Well-Being
• Living with a concealable stigmatized identity: The impact of anticipated stigma, centrality, salience, and cultural stigma on psychological distress and health.
• Gender Bias in Student Evaluations
• Finding community and overcoming barriers: experiences of queer and transgender postsecondary students in mathematics and other STEM fields
• Systemic inequalities for LGBTQ professionals in STEM
• Perceived Cohesion: A Conceptual and Empirical Examination

Discussions

• Authors in this #BioScience article conducted a national randomized experimental study of 2230 undergraduate biology students to assess the impact of brief instructor LGBTQ+ disclosure. doi.org/10.109 [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]