Intersectionality will save the future of science | Shawntel Okonkwo | TEDxUCLA

Summary

演讲者是一位分子生物学家，她在UCLA攻读博士学位，研究基因调控。她通过类比交通管制来解释基因调控的重要性，并分享了自己对科学的热爱。2012年，她遇到了一个名叫Diego的学生，他虽然在学术上表现优异，但因为种族和家庭背景可能面临歧视。演讲者利用自己的特权，致力于在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域寻找交叉性的解决方案，以解决社会盲点问题。她强调了交叉性理论的重要性，认为要真正实现科学的进步，必须将交叉性融入科学文化的DNA中，考虑所有身份的影响，并采取系统性的解决方案。

Takeaways

• 🧬 演讲者是一位分子生物学家，正在UCLA攻读博士学位，研究基因调控。
• 🚦 她用洛杉矶的交通来比喻基因在身体中的调控，强调了基因调控的重要性。
• 💖 演讲者分享了她对科学的热爱，以及她如何被一个名叫Diego的学生的科学天赋所启发。
• 🏫 演讲者指出Diego的学校被认为是低绩效学校，这影响了教师的教学方式和学生的未来机会。
• 🌐 演讲者提到了身份多样性如何导致不同类型的歧视和边缘化，以及这些因素如何共同影响一个人的身份和世界观。
• 🔬 她通过自己的特权，寻找交叉性的解决方案，以帮助像Diego这样的学生，并在博物馆和国会山倡导科学教育。
• 🌐 演讲者创立了VOC stem和woke stem组织，旨在将社会正义与STEM领域相结合，关注边缘化群体。
• 🚀 演讲者讨论了科技如何更深入地影响我们的生活，并强调了如果不将交叉性纳入考量，科技的进步可能会加剧不平等。
• 🔍 演讲者介绍了“交叉性”这一概念，解释了它如何帮助我们理解社会盲点，并强调了在STEM领域中实施交叉性的重要性。
• 🌟 演讲者鼓励我们通过三个P（特权、权力、途径）来思考如何将交叉性融入STEM，以创造一个更加包容和可持续的未来。

Q & A

演讲者在UCLA攻读什么学位？

演讲者在UCLA攻读分子生物学的博士学位。

演讲者如何将基因调控与洛杉矶的交通状况进行类比？

演讲者将基因比作道路上的车辆，而基因调控则相当于交通管制，她的研究就是关注这些调控机制如何协同工作，以维持生命体的正常功能。

演讲者提到了与Diego的相遇，Diego是谁？

Diego是一位二年级的学生，他在科学实验设计方面表现出色，给演讲者留下了深刻印象。

Diego的父母为什么没有完成高中学业？

Diego的父母从墨西哥移民到美国，由于语言课程的错误安排和他们是否属于这里的种种暗示，他们最终选择了辍学。

演讲者如何使用她的特权来寻找交叉性的解决方案？

演讲者利用她的特权在博物馆工作，参与政府提案，前往国会山倡导增加科学资金，并在大学层面创建科学导师计划，同时创立了VOC stem和woke stem组织。

演讲者提到的'三P'原则是什么？

'三P'原则指的是特权（Privilege）、权力（Power）和通道（Passage），这是演讲者提出的用于在STEM领域实现交叉性和社会正义的方法。

为什么演讲者强调在STEM领域考虑交叉性的重要性？

演讲者强调交叉性的重要性是因为不同身份特征导致的歧视和边缘化问题在STEM领域同样存在，如果不加以考虑，就会遗漏那些被社会忽视的人群。

演讲者提到的'系统性解决方案'是什么意思？

'系统性解决方案'指的是针对造成问题的根本原因，而不是仅仅解决表面症状的解决方案，它要求我们从系统层面去理解和解决问题。

演讲者如何定义'循环的爱'？

演讲者将'循环的爱'定义为一种能够相互看见、相互连接、积极肯定的爱，这种爱在所有涉及的人之间都能茁壮成长。

演讲者提到了哪些社会问题与STEM领域相关？

演讲者提到了孕产妇死亡率、人工智能的预测性警务、MeToo运动在共享经济和STEM领域中的问题，这些都是与STEM领域相关的社会问题。

Outlines

00:00

🔬 科学与爱情的交织

在这段视频中，演讲者以爱情作为引子，探讨了爱情中的相互看见与积极肯定，并将其与科学联系起来。演讲者自我介绍为分子生物学家，正在UCLA攻读博士学位，研究基因调控。她用洛杉矶的交通拥堵比喻基因调控的重要性，强调了基因调控在生命体内的作用。2012年，她遇到了一个名叫Diego的小男孩，他在学校的表现激发了她对科学教育的热情。然而，Diego的家庭背景和学校环境让他面临诸多挑战，包括父母因语言问题而辍学，以及Diego在学校的标准化测试中表现不佳。演讲者通过这些故事，揭示了社会对某些群体的偏见和歧视，以及这些因素如何影响个人的发展和机会。

05:05

🌐 社会盲点与科学进步

演讲者进一步探讨了社会盲点对科学领域的影响，指出科技进步并不总是惠及所有人。她提到了黑人女性在分娩中的高死亡率、人工智能在预测性警务中的应用，以及科技行业中性暴力的问题。这些问题揭示了科技和工程领域中的性别和种族歧视。演讲者强调，如果不将科学、技术、工程和数学视为文化的一部分，并考虑它们对所有人的影响，那么科技的进步将无法真正服务于社会。她提倡使用交叉性理论来理解和解决这些问题，通过考虑个体身份的多个方面，以及它们如何相互影响，来寻找更全面的解决方案。

10:05

🌱 系统性问题的交叉性解决方案

演讲者提出了解决科学、技术、工程和数学领域中系统性问题的交叉性方法。她强调了特权、权力和解决方案的可持续性这三个关键点。特权可以用来帮助那些处于不利地位的人，权力可以用来推动社会变革，而解决方案需要经得起时间的考验。演讲者通过自己的经历和观察，呼吁人们使用自己的特权来推动科学领域的平等和多样性。她还讨论了如何通过教育、资金支持和政策变革来实现这些目标，以及如何确保这些解决方案能够持续地服务于社会。

15:06

🌟 科学与交叉性的文化DNA

在视频的最后部分，演讲者强调了将交叉性融入科学、技术、工程和数学领域的文化DNA中的重要性。她提到了历史上女性和黑人在这些领域的边缘化，以及她自己作为黑人女性和移民后代所面临的挑战。演讲者呼吁人们重新思考科学的本质，确保它能够服务于所有人，并推动社会的进步。她以诗人Audrey Lorde的话结束演讲，强调没有单一问题斗争，因为我们不是过着单一问题的生活。演讲者鼓励人们采取行动，以确保科技的发展能够惠及每一个人。

Keywords

💡基因调控

基因调控是指细胞内控制基因表达的机制，即决定哪些基因在何时何地被激活或抑制的过程。在视频中，演讲者通过类比交通管制来解释基因调控，强调其对生命体的重要性。基因调控的失调可能导致疾病，而正确的调控则对维持健康至关重要。

💡身份交叉性

身份交叉性是由金伯莉·克伦肖提出的理论，用来描述不同身份特征（如种族、性别、阶级）如何交织在一起，影响个体的经历和他们在社会中的位置。视频中，演讲者通过自己的经历和对科学界的观察，探讨了身份交叉性如何影响人们在STEM领域的参与和体验。

💡系统性解决方案

系统性解决方案指的是针对根本原因而非仅仅是症状的解决方法。在视频中，演讲者强调，为了解决STEM领域中的不平等问题，需要采取系统性的视角，考虑造成这些问题的深层社会结构和文化因素。

💡特权

特权是指某些群体因其社会地位而享有的未被普遍承认的优势。视频中，演讲者讨论了特权如何影响STEM领域的参与，并鼓励人们利用自己的特权来推动更广泛的代表性和公平性。

💡权力

权力在这里指的是个体或群体控制资源、信息和决策的能力。演讲者提到，权力可以用来维持现状或推动变革，例如通过投资于那些在大麻产业中受到战争影响的人，来实现社会正义。

💡持续性

持续性是指解决方案或变革能够经受时间的考验，长期有效。演讲者通过提到一个长期的本科研究项目，强调了在STEM领域实现持久变革的重要性。

💡歧视

歧视是指基于种族、性别、宗教或其他身份特征的不公平对待。视频中，演讲者讨论了歧视如何在多个层面上影响个体，特别是在STEM领域，以及如何通过身份交叉性的视角来解决这些问题。

💡代表性

代表性指的是在某个领域或群体中，不同背景的人被公平地代表和考虑。演讲者强调了在STEM领域提高代表性的重要性，特别是对于被边缘化的群体。

💡科学传播

科学传播是指将科学知识、发现和过程传达给公众的过程。演讲者提到了自己在科学传播方面的工作，强调了将科学与社会正义结合起来的重要性。

💡文化DNA

文化DNA在这里比喻地指一个领域或组织的核心价值和实践。演讲者提倡将身份交叉性融入STEM的'文化DNA'，意味着需要从根本上改变科学实践和教育的方式。

Highlights

演讲者通过举手调查的方式，探讨了在场有多少人至少经历过一次爱情，包括对《权力的游戏》和曲奇面团的喜爱。

演讲者提出了“循环爱情”的概念，即能看到并被看到、相互联系并积极肯定的爱情。

演讲者自我介绍为分子生物学家，正在加州大学洛杉矶分校攻读博士学位，研究基因调控。

通过交通比喻，演讲者解释了基因调控的重要性，将其比作道路上的交通和交通管制。

演讲者分享了自己对科学的热爱，以及如何在大学期间对基因开关的热力学和生物物理学产生兴趣。

2012年，演讲者遇到了一个名叫Diego的二年级学生，他展现出了惊人的科学实验设计能力。

Diego的父母因身份问题和教育背景而感到自卑，担心Diego也会重蹈覆辙。

演讲者强调了学校标准化测试成绩低的问题，以及这对教师和学生的影响。

演讲者提到了种族歧视和身份认同如何影响个人在社会中的体验和机会。

演讲者分享了自己如何利用特权寻找交叉性的解决方案，包括在博物馆工作和在国会山倡导。

演讲者创立了VOC STEM和Woke STEM组织，旨在将社会正义与STEM领域结合起来。

演讲者讨论了科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域中的性别和种族歧视问题。

演讲者强调了在STEM领域中实施交叉性的重要性，以及如何将这种思维融入科学文化的DNA中。

演讲者提出了三个P的概念：特权、权力和途径，以促进STEM领域的交叉性。

演讲者以自己作为黑人女性的身份，讲述了在STEM领域中克服歧视和挑战的经历。

演讲者以Audrey Lorde的名言结束，强调没有单一问题斗争，因为我们不是过着单一问题的生活。

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

by a raise of hands how many of us have

fallen in love at least once in our

lives

and yes Game of Thrones and cookie dough

do count beautiful for those of us who

have fallen in love before have you ever

been in the situation where despite the

bountiful love and dedication you've had

it just was not required or how about

those on the other side of the equation

where you just couldn't quite mirror the

love that was professed to you have any

of us felt circular love that is the

love that sees and is seen the love that

is connected and positively affirming

and thriving for all those involved I'd

like for you to keep that in the back of

your mind as I tell you an incredible

and complex story today that involves

the love of everyone in this room you've

seen I'm a molecular biologist and I'm

getting my PhD here at UCLA studying

here legally

now just to explain what gene regulation

is I'm sure you are all are familiar

with how awful the traffic in LA is

right takes about an hour to drive like

five miles or something just trash so we

can also agree about how important it is

to regulate all of this traffic on the

road now I study genes and if we think

of the genes as a traffic on the roads

and all of the ways of regulating

traffic as our molecular quality control

mechanisms that's effectively my

doctoral research I'm interested in how

these different systems can connect with

one another to bring life to our bodies

now I fell in love with science I mean I

was the kind of girl in college when I

go to the parties and for an icebreaker

I would talk about the thermodynamics

and biophysics of how genes turn on and

off sorry but you know I couldn't help

it I was head over heels in love with

science my love story became a little

complicated in 2012 when I met Diego as

a science teacher on the first day of

school

Diego's a regular schmegle ER 2nd grader

but by week 2 honey Diego was teaching

me how to properly control and design a

scientific experiment okay now he was a

star he was absolutely brilliant and I

knew he was gonna go really far in life

when I met his mother at the end of the

year partying I told him that your son

is amazing he's brilliant he's gonna go

really far in life she started to break

down crying

you see she told me that both her and

her husband did not graduate from high

school in fact they dropped out they

immigrated here from Mexico and even

though the English was perfectly fine

they were in accurately placed in

special language courses courses one

thing led to another and a lot of subtle

and not-so-subtle messages around

whether they belong or not were sent to

them and as thus they dropped out of

high school because Diego wasn't doing

so well his standardized tests they felt

that the same was going to happen for

their son I told her your son is amazing

he's incredibly smart and critical he's

gonna go very far in life well let's

take one step back here the

school is considered low-performing

meaning that their standardized test

scores were not high because of that

teachers were highly pressured to ensure

that they got these scores up and

therefore couldn't bring science into

the classroom because the eggrolls

parents didn't go to college which opted

out of high school vehicle was more

likely to not go to college and because

Diego was Mexican he was more likely to

experience racial discrimination now

when we combine these varying levels of

discrimination and be able life the way

he navigates the world how can we expect

for him to experience the audience

age-old adage of equality the society

tends to dance on us at every single

moment considering this I thought about

the fact that there are DEA goals all

over the United States in fact all over

the world where different aspects of our

identity lead to different types of

discrimination and marginalization and

when you combine them together it makes

it much more difficult for us to be seen

heard recognized and appreciated as a

scientist I wanted to see how can I find

ways of understanding the blind spots

that society places for people like this

so I use my privilege and I went on to

find intersectional solutions at places

like museums I worked at the

Exploratorium in San Francisco as well

as this is no Sounion Institution's

National Museum of african-american

history trying to help create socially

and culturally relevant science through

a government proposal the I row by

myself to create an internship there

I spent time in DC going to Capitol Hill

advocating on their behalf of increased

scientific funding for schools just like

diego's I also in the college level

helps to create scientific mentorship

programs for first-generation college

students who are interested in

scientific research in addition to all

of this in my own science communication

consultancy I started VOC stem and woke

stem as an organization I created an

intersect social justice in stem while

censoring marginalized people now even

though I endured in all these different

endeavors of finding intersectional

solutions of bringing people who are in

societies blind spots to the center I

realized that the problem was much more

pervasive and complex than I originally

thought even though science and

technology has been making advances for

all of us there are many people who have

been left out maternal mortality is a

human rights issue that's affecting

women all over the United States in the

world yet black women are still two to

six times more likely to die from

childbirth artificial intelligence one

of the most sexiest technologies that

are out right now has led to new

technologies like predictive policing

you can only imagine what that's going

to mean for communities at the

intersection of race and class that have

been hyper criminalized and hyper

targeting for generations the me2

movement has found itself into the

rideshare industry as well as stem which

is science technology engineering and

math as female non-binary and trans

parent passengers have reported rampant

amounts of sexual violence this number

goes up when you include race as a

factor right now we're at a time where

science technology engineering and

mathematics are much more intimate than

we've ever imagined in every single one

of our lives most of you here are

holding one of those highly advanced

technologies in your pocket right now if

we fail to think about science

technology engineering and math as a

culture and that culture having

implications for how it impacts

all people as well as those at the

margins

what kind of advancements are these

technology is really going to have on

our collective future when we fail to

recognize people as whole that is all of

their identities as well as the

different types of discrimination that

leads to who they are and how they

navigate the world we create societies

blind spots let me let me highlight this

a little bit better so I'm a woman and

I'm more likely to experience sexual

discrimination than others if you didn't

know by now I am black yes I am and I am

more likely than not to experience

racial discrimination when you put these

two levels of discrimination together I

have a compounded identity that is

highly informed by this intersection if

someone were to come to me and say that

oh like let's say let's increase the

number of women in stem well you know

that's probably gonna be in many mainly

white women given statistics and what

have you what about black women because

I am both black and a woman luckily dr.

kimberlé crenshaw created a way of

thinking about society's blind spots in

the way that we fail to recognize people

as whole this concept is called

intersectionality and I'm sure many of

you have heard of it before but just to

give some clarity intersectionality is

one of the ways that we think about how

different aspects of discrimination and

marginalization intersect to impact one

person's identity and navigation through

the world this also brings some context

systems of power and systems of

privilege we think about science

technology engineering and math

sometimes we think that these

technologies altogether

bring truth and bring wellbeing for all

however like I highlighted before this

is not the case without thinking about

the ways that different aspects of our

identity can lead to different aspects

of discrimination we start to leave

people out because we're looking at one

aspect of the identity and not the whole

aspect we

need to build intersectionality into the

cultural DNA of how we think about

science how we teach science how we fund

science and whose science truly serves

if we fail to bring this into the

context of how we do science and all of

the things I mentioned before we will

continue to have the problems that have

been pervasive and leading to the

current conditions that we have now a

lot of the solutions in society right

now are pretty prescriptive and a little

symptomatic

let's bring more black people into our

company because we're not doing so hot

with the numbers or let's increase this

number here this number there the issue

is these are not intersectional

solutions intersectionality takes

account of the systems that brought

these issues to the first place

systemic issues require systemic

solutions in order to get to the root of

the problems that we have in science

technology engineering and mathematics

we must take an intersectional and

systemic solution and approach so we're

aware that society has these blind spots

and we talked about intersectionality as

a way of kind of theorizing about these

blind spots and what does it mean for

somebody to navigate through society

with these blind spots but it's not

enough to think about and say it means

more to do these three P's for

intersectionality and stem are a way

that we can Center empathy as a way to

include everyone in the scientific

endeavor and a collective future one of

the questions is privilege how does our

privilege intersect with another one's

oppression that's something I want like

for everyone to kind of sit on and think

about for a little bit privilege can be

good and it can be bad you know when you

think about privilege I think about when

I went through undergrad trying to get

research experience and how I really

didn't have a lot of money at all

actually was completely broke

and I started to understand that

students who wanted to get research

experience needed to do volunteer

research experiences and work in lab as

unpaid laborers essentially I would like

that's not gonna work for me because I

need money to eat I need to pay my rent

those who are privileged who don't need

to earn money to live can't have higher

access to these spaces and thus leads to

more advancement to scientific endeavor

on the other hand privilege can be good

in terms of the access that we have if

you use your privilege for good for

example this looks the wild success of

the Black Panther movie which grossed

1.3 billion dollars worldwide we saw the

way that this had an impact on

representation and stem sherry anybody

know sherry okay that privileged access

to Hollywood that privileged access to

telling real stories and about putting

the light and the sensor on people who

traditionally haven't been censored is

one way that you can use your privilege

for good the next thing I like for us to

consider is power power is a way in

which we have access to information what

we have access to resources a lot of you

who are probably familiar with the CVD

industry right I got far you know CBD is

kind of a noise right it's kind of wild

to think about that in 2022 it's

projected to be on the order of tens of

billions of dollars venture capitalists

are scrambling to pick a piece of this

cake

CBD lattes are on every corner you see

billboards of it yet you have people who

were impacted by the war on drugs who

are to this day struggling to find a job

because they have two felonies for being

in possession of this same compound

that's making people filthy rich today

so when we think about power when we ask

this question about power how can I use

my power for good those who are the

beneficiaries of this new green boom can

help true early adopters and creating

social equity based system and

reparations based systems for paying

back these real early adopters the last

P I'd like for us to consider is passage

now passages how does this particular

solution technology science the way

we're communicating this how does a

solution pass the test of time true

change is sustainable

you can't implement a solution one time

block all right we're good we're done it

needs to pass the test of time one quick

example of this is one of the

undergraduate research programs I was a

part of it was called the Marc program

this program is very very old and has

enabled hundreds if not thousands of

students who come from underrepresented

backgrounds to earn PhDs so we have to

consider how sustainable and how

consistent is a solution and censoring

intersectionality for better futures in

stem if we always consider these three

P's and the way we communicate science

and the way that we fund science who is

represented in science who is doing our

science and who are scientists serving

we can start to move towards a future

that actually puts science technology to

better good for all now earlier I talked

to you all about love and about how love

it can be circular Audrey Lorde is a

Caribbean poet and one of her great

quotes that I love to live by and really

love to meditate on is that there's no

such thing as a single issue struggle as

we don't live single issue lives now

more than ever

science and technology is changing the

way people are living their lives it's

transforming generations it's healing

past generations to new modes of

connection science and technology

is really doing it but if we fail to

implement intersectionality and these

three P's of interrogating systems of

privilege systems of power and whether

or not the solution can pass a test of

time we will fail to create technologies

and solutions for a better future 100

years ago this kind of campus this kind

of place was not made for women and it

most certainly was not made for black

people but here I am black a woman child

of Nigerian immigrants first generation

born in the United States struggled

through discrimination racism harassment

and all the things you can imagine and

yeah I'm here on this stage on this

campus on tongue the land urging you

about the importance of

intersectionality and stem and how if we

are to Center intersectionality if we

are to rewrite the cultural DNA of how

we do science how we communicate science

how we think about science whose science

serves and this is a process I instead

engineering and mathematics to change

the world thank you

you