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  • Interpreting Malicious Responses to an Online Questionnaire about Transgender Undergraduate Engineering and Computer Science Student Experiences
Title: Interpreting Malicious Responses to an Online Questionnaire about Transgender Undergraduate Engineering and Computer Science Student Experiences
Online research that solicits participation from marginalized communities or is conducted by scholars of marginalized identities may be targeted by individuals who intend to tamper with the study outcomes and/or harass the researchers. Our goal is to identify and interpret malicious responses recorded in a first-of-its-kind national questionnaire for transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) students in undergraduate engineering and computer science programs. Data categorized as malicious (50 of the 349 total responses) contained slurs, hate speech, or direct targeting of the research team. The data was coded inductively and discursively interpreted through social justice frameworks. The responses contained homophobic, transphobic, ableist, anti-Black, antisemitic, and anti-Indigenous content. Online memes associated with white nationalist and fascist movements were present throughout the data, alongside memes and content referencing gaming and “nerd” culture. Malicious responses can provide critical insight into the social conditions in STEM education. In application, we call for researchers to critically analyze, rather than discard, malicious data to shed light on these phenomena and generate empowering “counterspeech” to confront hate and reclaim agency. These findings show that social justice STEM education must include perspectives on online hate radicalization and center anti-colonial, intersectional solidarity organizing as its opposition.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1764103
PAR ID:
10526830
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Northwestern University Libraries
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Bulletin of applied transgender studies
Volume:
2
Issue:
1-2
ISSN:
2769-2124
Page Range / eLocation ID:
67-94
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
transgender STEM computer science hate speech
Format(s):
Medium: X
Right(s):
Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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