<p>Well Xini654, the reason why no one ever say “gay in engineering” is because the subject is totally different. (I am sure there are a few…) We are talking about gender and racial minority. Moreover, the public respects this “don’t ask don’t tell” practice with the respect to the sexual orientation, and people are conservative about SO.</p>
<p>Why diversity initiatives? This was an idea from many decades ago, and now I view it as a money business. It is about funding! I understand that being an URM is difficult. But preaching about diversity initiatives today sounds unoriginal and overwhelming to me.</p>
<p>Without discussing the merits of morality/sexuality, it’s also notable that gay & lesbian sexuality is still a bit of a taboo and views are still very mixed about it in our society. The race issue in our society is completely gone - people don’t think any race is superior to any other race (minus the nuts). On the other hand, you get a group of people and ask them about their views on sexual orientation, and it’ll still end up being almost a 50/50 view. A unanimous acknowledgement of equality is not recognized for gays/lesbians (yet) as is for race or sex or age.</p>
<p>More or less. But it also depends upon which “odds” you’re looking at–I probably shortchanged myself with EE, but I know a lot of MEs and CEs that are actually more than dateable.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of doing CompEng…If I do I bet I’d be like the only girl in a lot of my classes lol. yay?
my brother once said that all female engineers are “scary”–as in independent, sometimes unapproachable</p>
<p>Physics is more analytical than chemistry. In physics classes you learn about simple systems, but you develop them from the ground up, establishing them by reason. In chemistry classes, you study more complicated systems, but you don’t explain how they behave ab initio–a lot things that you learn are just ‘something that happens’.</p>
<p>I suspect that a lot of girls have an aversion to the more analytical subjects–CS, math, & physics aren’t as popular as engineering or chemistry to women. Note: I am not saying this as a slight–I’m an engineering major myself.</p>
<p>Part of the reason why LGBT acceptance is lower, IMO, is that there are militant LGBTs that allow their non-heterosexuality be their sole defining characteristic. They cannot meet anyone without informing them how they are “different” and resort to constantly bringing up topics that shine a light on how they are “different.” This annoys a lot of people, straight and otherwise, and ruins it for the people who happen to be LGBT, but don’t let that be all they are.</p>
<p>I don’t think female engineers are much more independent or motivated than average. Some are, some aren’t, similar to other majors. Personally, I find independent, motivated, and smart women to be SUBSTANTIALLY more attractive.</p>
<p>I think that it’s understandable though . . . a lot of those guys & gals have lived a lot of their lives thinking that they are broken or defective people for being who they are. I can’t really fault them for really emphasizing that aspect of their personality, as a backlash to that, even if it may be a little obnoxious.</p>
<p>PurdueEE, I haven’t told any of my fellow CivE peers or professors that I’m gay. I dress like any straight guy and don’t impose my sexuality in any way. The reason LGBT acceptance is lower is because of religion and cultural attitudes. This is even more apparent in engineering because a significant percentage of students/professors are immigrants from India and the Middle East where they have an archaic understanding of sexuality and gender roles. That may be why gays are overrepresented in the liberal arts and less so in engineering because then they don’t have to deal with all backward immigrants. Also the engineering schools are dominated by straight men and many of them have this need to express how macho they are, which makes for a less welcoming environment for gays.</p>
<p>I’m sure religion and culture plays a significant role as well, but most of the people I have met would not dislike someone who was LGBT for that reason. Said people might not become close friends with you due to your sexuality because they view it as being incompatible with their lifestyle, but they would never treat you poorly because of it. In this regard I would say it’s very similar to athleticism, I would be more likely to befriend semi-athletic to athletic people because I enjoy playing sports but I would never think poorly of someone who lived a more sedentary lifestyle.</p>
<p>I realize some people might be offended by the mere thought of someone “different.” I don’t know what the solution is but maybe by sending a positive message that a gay engineer really isn’t that different you might change some minds. Obviously this would require a collective effort to be successful.</p>
<p>I don’t know what school you go to but most of the engineering students I knew at Purdue were far from macho and never came close to giving off that image. It’s possible our interpretation of macho is completely different, but I would have been more apt to call my fellow students nerdy, shy, quiet, etc.</p>