Posts Tagged women’s colleges

graduates in cap and gown

No, trans activism isn’t threatening the mission of women’s colleges

Last week, Monica Potts wrote a piece in The New Republic initially entitled “Trans Activism is Threatening Women’s Colleges’ Mission: Campus fights to erase references to women are indistinguishable from old-school misogyny” and then, after lots of pushback, changed to: “Why Women’s Colleges Still Matter in the Age of Transactivism.” 

Last week, Monica Potts wrote a piece in The New Republic initially entitled “Trans Activism is Threatening Women’s Colleges’ Mission: Campus fights to erase references to women are indistinguishable from old-school misogyny” and then, after lots ...

emmacatarine

Guest Post: Fear of a trans college

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Emma Caterine. Emma is a prison abolitionist, decriminalization advocate, socialist, and cat lover. She has written in the past for Autostraddle, RH Reality Check, The Feminist Wire, and Tits and Sass. You can find more of her writing at sassysyndicalist.tumblr.com.

Fear, perhaps more extremely than any other emotion, motivates people to make some strange and terrible decisions. Prejudice is very often such a decision. I disagree with those who want to abandon words like homophobia or transphobia: fear can make no rational sense and though it never excuses horrific decisions, it can explain them.

Transphobia is particularly apt when discussing the prejudicial attitudes of some cisgender feminists towards trans women. The idea ...

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Emma Caterine. Emma is a prison abolitionist, decriminalization advocate, socialist, and cat lover. She has written in the past for Autostraddle, RH Reality Check, The Feminist Wire, and Tits ...

Mt. Holyoke college changes policy to admit trans women

This week Mt. Holyoke, a women’s college in the Pioneer Valley in MA, announced it will be changing its admissions policy to include trans women as applicants who will be considered for admission:

Mount Holyoke College welcomes applications for our undergraduate program from any qualified student who is female or identifies as a woman.

Mt. Holyoke released a FAQ on transgender admission explaining the policy and how the school came to this decision:

This week Mt. Holyoke, a women’s college in the Pioneer Valley in MA, announced it will be changing its admissions policy to include trans women as applicants who will be considered for admission:

Mount Holyoke College welcomes applications ...

Trans women belong here

Prominent women’s colleges unwilling to open doors to trans women

Last summer, Calliope Wong, then a high school senior, began an open-letter campaign regarding the admissions policies of Smith College. Calliope had hoped to apply for admission to their undergraduate program. But as a trans woman, Calliope encountered an admissions policy at Smith with such prohibitively high demands and so many inconsistencies that her application was ultimately denied consideration, even after following instructions given to her through repeated, direct communication with members of the Smith College administration in which they encouraged her to apply. (Here’s a photo of the rejection letter she received, courtesy Transwomen@Smith Tumblr)

The actions of the Smith College administration constitute a discriminatory bar against trans women. But after reaching out to over ...

Last summer, Calliope Wong, then a high school senior, began an open-letter campaign regarding the admissions policies of Smith College. Calliope had hoped to apply for admission to their undergraduate program. But as a trans ...