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Andrea (she/her) holds a PhD in conservation science from Martin-Luther University in Halle. Her thesis which she defended in 2019 focused on rewilding as a novel approach to conservation. Also since 2019, she's been working as Science-Policy officer for the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) in Leipzig. In her free time she's on a mission to support female PhD candidates in their final months before submission to get over PhD finisher’s block, grow their support network and professional visibility so they can get on with their life and land their dream job.

Being Gay in Academia: Unravelling Suffocating Contradictions

This article explores the experience of a gay man entering academia in an oppressive conservative culture, creating impossible contradictions between who they are and who academia wants them to be. Professional norms of academia clash with stereotypes of what ‘gay’ looks like to produce a suffocating costume that we often feel is necessary to survive. The article advocates for representation of minority groups in academia to expand ideas of who we can be – and for PhD students to care for one another and embrace our unique stories and identities.

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