Come out in app, interviews?

[ITISRED]

I'm applying to ecology programs and keep coming across the question of how I'll contribute to the school's diversity. I'm a biracial woman and I mentor other minorities, so I have no issue answering that question. I just wonder if this is the place to tell the department that I'm gay. On the one hand I want them to know so that if it's an issue, I just won't be accepted and I won't have to worry about homophobia. On the other hand I'm terrified of being rejected because my specific interests are kind of narrow, so there are few programs I can apply to to begin with.

I'm still not totally comfortable with my identity, mostly because of the very negative reactions I have gotten from those closest to me. So it's hard to be out and proud and all that. I was even on the e-board of an org for LGBT students in STEM, but I didn't put that on my CV because I was worried about reactions. I just feel like coming out to the school will be uncomfortable for everyone, but I don't want to end up going somewhere where they'll have a problem with it. Do I just slip it into my application? Do I ask about LGBT resources or something during the interview? Do I just not take that risk? This is so stressful. Advice?

Thank you!

[fuzzylogician]

My advice: the people reading your application aren't exactly the same people as those who you'll actually interact with at a school you might attend. How you're treated and how comfortable you feel also depends on factors beyond just the department, like the school itself, the town it's in, the state, and so on. So at this point I would suggest on the one hand doing some reading to see if there are obvious red flags about a certain place, but beyond that I would not say anything in the applications themselves, and probably also not during (pre-admission) interviews. Think of the applications as your chance to display your best professional self; it's not necessarily a place to bring up personal issues (with the possible exception of diversity/personal history statements, but it's often hard to know how those would be read and treated.) Once you are accepted, you are in a position of power -- really for the only time during your graduate student career. At that point, I would advise visiting each school, if at all possible, and I would ask to be put in touch with other gay students and get their advice. Students are usually very honest, and will tell you if they are unhappy. Talk to the LGBTQ organization(s) on campus, and if you are out, maybe there is a way to bring it up casually with your potential advisor and gauge their reaction. But again, I'd only do that once you have an offer. Before then, people will be less forthcoming, because you are just a random potential applicant, instead of an admitted student; that makes a big difference. But I also agree that you do not want to attend a school where you would not be welcome, and I really hope you don't encounter that.

[Sigaba]

MOO, I would not disclose the information during the application/interview process, especially since the ferocity of the current political season has raised American misogyny and intolerance to truly toxic levels. 

Professors/administrators may interpret the disclosure as a signal that you're going to bring a focus on identity politics that may compete with your focus on your field of study. The politics of your department may be such that even those professors who are committed to embracing diversity may want the incoming class of graduate students to be focused on their work.

IRT @fuzzylogician's guidance, I respectfully offer a slight variation: do your due diligence as part of the application process. Try to get a sense of each school's policies and culture. Does Happyland State have multiple student organizations that may help you? What policies/programs are in place to encourage diversity? Are their departments/majors that speak to your concerns? Have there been issues on campus that indicate a broader hostility towards members of the LGBTQ community?

IMO, even if the evidence suggests that Happyland State does not welcome women such as yourself, I recommend applying anyways and seriously consider accepting an offer.  America is at a crossroads. One road is well paved and leads backwards, not to the 1950s, but the 1850s. The other road leads to a more perfect union. That road is still but a path. That road needs trailblazers like you.

[Yanaka]

I took advantage of my sexual identity in my personal statement (NOT the SoP). That's the weird thing about US universities: they have percentages and diversity interests, and parts of our intimacy and personal background can actually be useful to/of interest for applications. Since I am applying to LGBTQ+-friendly programs and am kind of politically involved in those matters, I thought it was a necessary and helpful information to my application. I hope my thought on this helps you or others!

[unræd]

On December 1, 2016 at 7:00 AM, Yanaka said:

I took advantage of my sexual identity in my personal statement (NOT the SoP). That's the weird thing about US universities: they have percentages and diversity interests, and parts of our intimacy and personal background can actually be useful to/of interest for applications. Since I am applying to LGBTQ+-friendly programs and am kind of politically involved in those matters, I thought it was a necessary and helpful information to my application. I hope my thought on this helps you or others!

It's important to note, though, that the more queer-friendly the program, often the less emphasis is placed on sexual identity as a marker of diversity. At Berkeley, for example, so much of the graduate student population (and faculty) is LGBTQ+ that it becomes the sort of thing that doesn't really answer the personal statement's prompt about working with/contributing to the education of students from diverse backgrounds. I know Berkeley profs who've suggested that applicants not use their sexual identity as their lens for the statement, in fact, because it's really just not a thing here.