Transforming lab coats into statements of identity & inclusivity

We all know the stereotype of the scientist in a white lab coat, but how do scientists see themselves?

CLOAK: Queer Science, Fashion & STEMM was a collaboration between academics at the University of Sydney and UTS that sought to re-invent the lab coat and challenge our idea of a professional uniform.

CLOAK queried the normative stereotype of the ‘white lab coat’ and reimagined the garment as an identity statement of the kind a superhero might adopt.

As reworked by emerging fashion designers, discarded laboratory coats became expressions of self that challenged the notion that scientists should leave aspects of their identity outside the lab.

“I had always thought that lab coats should only be white,” said Niina Sugiyama, a Japanese exchange student when she saw the finished cloaks.

“This activity changed my way of thinking. I thought not only of the white coats but also everything else we take for granted about people.”

The garments produced in CLOAK spark conversations about science, art and queer inclusion.

By increasing the visibility of LGBTQIA+ scientists, the CLOAK project amplifies positive role models and enables young people to consider careers in science.

The project included 12 LGBTQIA+ participants of different ages, career stages, and cultural backgrounds.

At the first of two workshops, the designers and scientists were paired up randomly to work together.

After some initial icebreaker exercises, they were left to talk about how they had found their way into their respective fields, their research interests, the materials they work with, what they like to wear, what they learned in school, their family’s influence on their career choice or interest, there approach to life and practice, and their experience of inclusion and exclusion.

CLOAK was as much about inclusivity and sustainability as it was about fashion and science. Every year, over 300,000 tonnes of clothing is sent to landfill in Australia or exported as waste.

The CLOAK project responded to this growing problem by refashioning used lab coats into beautiful showpieces with the help of other second-hand or repurposed materials.

Are these coats functionals as lab coats? Some of them, yes, but most are better understood as costumes that allow the scientists to bring their full selves to the table.

The white lab coat has long symbolised professionalism and objectivity. CLOAK expands on that by adding the warmth, humour and vulnerability that is often absent from that account of science.

Currently housed in SSSHARC the lab coats continue to inspire.

In February 2024, they were used as a teaching resource with 20 Japanese undergraduate students from Hokusei Gakuen University who were visiting the University of Sydney on cultural exchange.

These students were chiefly undertaking majors in STEM, Business or Law, and had no previous formal exposure to ideas around inclusivity or interdisciplinary collaboration.

The feedback they gave to their facilitator, Professor Aki Nishihara, indicated that they found the experience profoundly moving and that being allowed to wear the garments was a huge honour.

The students also noted they had never encountered queer identified professors before. They did, however, recognize many of the symbols and techniques sewn into the garments, one of which combines elements of a kimono.

The CLOAK project both challenged the stereotype of who can be a scientist and influenced perceptions of queer people.

Shared joy is intrinsic to the CLOAK project as can be seen when anyone puts a lab coat on. Each garment represents freedom of expression and counters   the idea that research requires people to supress aspects of their identity.

CLOAK has been nominated for the 2024 Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion.