But I guess they won't see any transgender students!
A Smith Gold Key tour guide was refused the chance to host a prospie because of his gender identity.
This is some bullshit. Smith has to recognize the contributions of our trans students and see that they are just like the rest of us and deserve the same chances!
Might it be confusing for a prospie to stay with a man at a woman's college? Sure. But it would also be an authentic Smith experience and maybe open up her mind to some new possibilities and inequalities and opportunities. And frankly, if her reaction is one of shock and discomfort, then she knows this ain't the college for her.
But nope, let's just ignore the men on campus. Nothing to see here, except some discrimination.
Mad as hell? Email transcendinggender@gmail.c
Much love,
The Sheriff
All you have to do is look at the slideshow on the Smith website homepage to see the very gender-normative (is that a word?) image they want to put forth to outsiders.
ReplyDeleteI know! I ran up against this over the summer when I looked at our admissions brochures--NO ONE even looks gay! It's all women with long hair!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm surprised that someone who is FtoM (which I assume this guy is) feels comfortable going to a women's college. If I were in that position, I would have transferred to a co-ed school as soon as I started transitioning. But this is just me.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people who are ftm stay at Smith because it's an open environment (at least on the part of most students), and people in western MA in general are more understanding and open about gender identity. And many people might identify as male but not necessarily have the resources or desire to start physically transitioning in college, so that's another reason why it's easier to stay.
ReplyDeleteI definitely disagree with what Smith did by not letting him host-Its wrong and disrespectful and doesn't give an accurate representation of the college. But. You still have to look at both sides of the coin. As a student at an all womens' college, there was definitely an adjustment for me. I came from "white bread" affluent suburbia. This school was a HUGE adjustment for me- I've learned a TON and grown to make the best friends of my life (many of which are gay and trans) and this is definitely the school for me. But I will admit, had I stayed with a man when I had visited as a prospective student, I would have felt uncomfortable and may have considered my accepting their offer. I think to say that anyone who is uneasy "just doesn't belong" really limits the college to a certain type of person, and that may or may not be good. But there's also no saying that anyone outside of "that type" can't grow to be accepting and more comfortable- It just may take some time at Smith to get there, and that's really what college is about, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWell, from reading Jake's blog, it seems he's been allowed to host prospies in the past as a Gold Key guide (just not this weekend for some reason) so long as he lets them know in advance that he is male, which gives the visiting student a chance to say if they feel uncomfortable with it.
ReplyDeleteI also think a big piece of Smith's issue is just how they choose to represent themselves--if we acknowledge in our admissions materials and our website the existence of sexual and gender diversity on this campus instead of pretending that we all wear pearls and ride horses and wear twin sets like in the olden days, then I think it gives students looking at Smith a chance to see if this is a good fit for them. I know some lovely conservative and religious people who like Smith but are deeply uncomfortable with the sexually open nature of the college in general, which doesn't even touch upon how they feel about gay PDA or men on campus. I think if Smith represented itself more accurately instead of how it wishes it was then those people could find a really good fit for them.
But I agree with your point that college is definitely a time of growth and opportunity to challenge your assumptions, and hopefully some of these prospies will come to do that!