College Admissions Viewbooks and the Grammar of Gender, Race, and STEM

  1. Their analysis of viewbooks revealed hyper-gendered and hyper-racialized narratives of identity, place, and belonging.
  2. The common themes among the viewbooks were a White heroic male with superior abilities and dedication to the science and represents the authentic scientists. Women in science, who are depicted as either White or Asian, and typically serve in roles that are supportive to White men. Minority males were shown very little in viewbooks, and when they were shown, they were Asians that were also supportive to White men.
  3. The few exceptions they found to these dominant themes did not challenge the limiting racialized and gendered depictions of belonging in science.
  4. The only difference that the high and low diversity school’s viewbooks had was that the high diversity schools had greater representation of Asians in STEM images in comparison to the low diversity schools.
  5. The viewbook representations perpetuate an invisibility of women and minorities in STEM.
  6. The viewbooks convey strong messages concerning race, gender, and issues of belonging, hierarchy, power, and privilege in STEM.