The courage of scientists who survived in a closet is admirable; in a world where Pride Parades didn’t exist, where the rainbow flags couldn't unfurl; where 'acceptance' was a myth and homosexuality was a 'disease.'
'Science' and 'sexuality' have a long history of their own. These two fields, which evolved, disengaged, rampaged each other until being declared to be intrinsically 'one' since origin, have chartered a long path of 'validation' for the LGBTQIA+ community. But while in the 21st century this is an option, back in the dark ages there wasn't much one could do about it. Infested with the 'Adam-Eve' concept of love, being an LGBTQIA+ was mere 'deviance.' In the name of 'Science,' a person was treated inhumanely, labeled as 'mentally abnormal,' castrated, or even murdered.
Science, which is the key to every lock and scientists, its exceptional advancers have also not been spared of this “unusual” feeling and its repercussions. Many great scientists have worked ‘incognito’, limiting their true selves to themselves. Again, intellect, achievements, and contribution wouldn’t count but just the fact that he/she was unalike. Rumors, “inconsistent” behavior, and society’s unnecessarily sharp eye however uncovered the sexuality of some of these extraordinary minds. While many gave in to the society’s orthodox thinking, many stood bold as a wall against it. Hereunder is a peep into the life of some of these striking personalities.
Alan Turing
(Source: Revista EduSoft)
The individual whose life inspired the logo of Apple- a half-bitten apple- which attempts to pay homage to this great scientist who was fed an apple laced with poison due to his sexuality.
Alan Turing is the creator of the Universal Turing Machine which laid down the foundation for the first computer. A multi-faceted individual, he was a mathematician, philosopher, computer scientist, and cryptanalyst. In fact, he is the mind that helped decode the ‘undecodable’ messages of the Nazis during World War II. When he came out as a homosexual, he was booked for ‘gross indecency’ and was forcibly made to go through chemical castration which left him impotent. In the year 2009, British PM Gordon Brown issued an apology to Turing, describing his treatment as ‘unfair’ and ‘horrifying’.
John Maynard Keynes
(Source: National Portrait Gallery, London)
A stalwart of economics, John Maynard Keynes, is the founder of the ‘Keynesian Theory’. Apart from heavily affecting economic policies with his life-saving solutions, Keynes studied macroeconomics extensively and also helped balance the needs of economic growth and inflation. He was an open and proud homosexual individual.
Leonardo Da Vinci
(Source: The Guardian)
The great genius Leonardo Da Vinci was the creator of great pieces of art such as the Mona Lisa, he studied multiple subjects like chemistry, anatomy, mathematics, physics, botany, and hydrodynamics. According to several documents and accounts of his life, Leonardo Da Vin Ci was gay and was also charged for this “crime” of his. No actual proof however transpired, sparing him jail time.
George Washington Carver
(Source: History.com)
Also known as ‘Black Leonardo’, George Washington Carver was an American Agricultural Scientist. This intellectual man not only researched a great deal on crop rotation but also came up with new ways of improving soil quality. He’s also very famous for his work with peanuts and sweet potatoes.
John Burnside
(Source: SFGate)
John Burnside was the inventor of the ‘taleidoscope’, a different kind of a kaleidoscope! It had an open view which formed patterns on the objects seen outside of the instrument. Along with being an inventor, John Burnside was an outspoken person and was a gay rights activist during his time. He organized many gay rights parades and also protested against their ostracism and discrimination.
Sara Josephine Baker
(Source: Wikipedia)
Dr. Sara Josephine Baker was a proud lesbian doctor who is credited for extensively working for sanitation, infant care, and nutrition, especially for the poor. She understood her responsibility as an educated individual having the potential to affect change in the world. She is also nicknamed as the catcher of ‘Typhoid Mary’. Typhoid Mary was a woman who was a super-spreader of Typhoid in New York and the source of the Epidemic in 1907.
Sally Ride
(Source: Wikipedia)
Sally Ride is the first-ever woman astronaut who went to space in 1983, which also probably makes her the first of the LGBTQIA+ to have ventured into space! This amazing woman is the founder of Sally Ride Science, a non-profit organization working to encourage girls to enter the field of Science Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She was initially married to a man but in the 27 years before her death, she had maintained a relationship with a woman.
Lynn Conway
(Source: Wikimedia)
Lynn Conway is an American computer scientist whose invention lead to the evolution of today’s high-performing computer processors. You’re probably reading this article on a device that is working on a processor inspired by her innovation! She was born as a male but suffered from gender dysphoria which led her to change her assigned gender. As a consequence, IBM, her work company fired her. Nevertheless, she went to work under big names like MIT & DARPA and revolutionized the industry with her talent in microchips. Subsequently, after 52 years of maltreatment for her transition, IBM did apologize to her and gave due recognition to her endowment.
Lauren Esposito
(Source: Alie Ward)
Dr. Lauren Esposito is a queer scientist and the only specialist on scorpions in the world! She is an arachnologist, someone who studies spiders and related animals. The co-founder of ‘500 Queer Scientists’, she has given birth to a professional network and movement that encourages recognition of the LGBTQIA+ individuals who are working in STEM fields.
Richard Summerbell
(Source: Wikipedia)
Richard Summerbell is a prominent Canadian mycologist. He studies the various properties of fungi and is a leading expert on how fungi can affect the health of human beings. Not surprisingly, he is the author of more than 140 scientific papers and has authored and co-authored several manuals and books. As a matter of fact, he is also an authority on mycology of the forest tree roots. He is also an open gay rights activist.
After reading about great minds like these, who had to suffer for something only so inborn, it occurs as an epiphany that the world needs to evolve into a welcoming and free place before society stifles any more souls. Scientists around the world have had cutting-edge research tossed into oblivion and have faced persecution, even death for their sexuality.
Even today, it is awkward at most of the places to deliver a lecture with normalcy, or to adjust in a workplace just like anybody else would. Within scientific workforces, knowledge about sexual minorities is minimal, making it perilous for a queer one to come out.
The fear of discrimination, isolation, and exclusion takes a toll on their psychological health, never allowing them to break free. Sexual stereotyping threatens everything, from collaboration on small projects to big promotions. Hopefully one day the world would wake up to a society, where capabilities, promotions, access to education, and routine public life are independent of sexuality; a world where no one would have to hide their relationships, move away from a particular location, avoid public transportation, alter the way they dress, talk and walk and can simply breathe freely, devoid of this constant terror.
This article has been curated by Ms. Sunidhi Singh and edited by Ms. Jyotika Aggarwal, fourth-year students of the Army Institute of Law, Mohali.