Investigating students' experiences and perceptions of gender in introductory physics courses

The continued underrepresentation of women, gender minorities, and people of color in physics has long been both a concern and a focus of the physics education research community. Prior studies show that students from these traditionally marginalized groups often experience tension between their own gender and racial identities and their identities as scientists, which may affect how they express themselves in the classroom. In this work, we expand on the findings of one such study that revealed discrepancies between students' self-rated (how do I see myself?) and reflected appraisals (how do I think others see me?) of gender expression/identity. These discrepancies have also been found to correlate with students' sense of belonging and self-efficacy in physics. We present the results from interviews with students in introductory physics courses and discuss findings related to the tension between students' self-expression and their perceived expectations within the physics learning environment.