Gay Teen Science Prodigy Jack Andraka Profiled by 60 Minutes

[Fearless]

Jack Andraka, the gay teen who became known as the “Boy Wonder” of science after his work in developing a new method to detect pancreatic cancer earned him the grand prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, was profiled in the latest episode of 60 Minutes.

However, while the news program managed to focus on everything from Andraka’s theories to his family life, the fact that he is gay was conveniently omitted from the science prodigy’s profile.

Though Andraka’s story is inspiring regardless, 60 Minutes’ failure to include any mention of his sexuality is a missed an opportunity to both fight negative stereotypes and offer hope to LGBT youth who are underrepresented in the media compared to their straight counterparts.

The 60 Minutes segment can be seen in the first video below, but we have also included VocativVideo’s profile of the 16-year-old prodigy from August, which includes Andraka talking about his feelings as a gay person in the science.

http://www.advocate.com/society/youth/2013/10/15/gay-teen-science-prodigy-jack-andraka-profiled-60-minutes

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[theHandpuppet]

1. This may seem to be a trivial point but...

... this is a major reason I'm disappointed that with TV shows such as "Big Bang Theory" we don't see any young gay scientists and engineers. (Nor young black scientists, for that matter). Gay youth need to see themselves reflected in all aspects of society and careers.

[Fearless]

2. +1 DEFINITELY!