(Untitled)

[sillyandmorbid]

Below are two cuts I am stealing from Malika. And then, briefly, my own opinion on the matter. Not f-locked so feel free to link anyone to this or repost or whatever.
I WOULD LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS!

Behind cut number one: Article from the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Comments

this is neither organized nor elegant, but it is still true.

[anamuan]

to be honest, i couldn't bring myself to read the entirety of the article in one go, because it just made me so angry. (What may surprise the author most about this is that this anger actually has nothing to do with my period. I'm angry because sexism, which is a key component of this article, is wrong.) The author spouts nonsense. The whole thing is a big 'omgomg but the poor boys/men! they suffer so since women have started getting actual rights!' Smith, and other women's colleges serve a very important function: making a space in this country, and in academia, where it's not all about the boys. Because mainstream isn't for everybody. it's for the white, middle-to-upperclass straight male. What this article is about is a man finding a space where he doesn't have as much privilege as he's used to, and being butthurt about it.

a woman's college is not the same thing as a men's college because men have an advantage in this world. a men's college serves to keep women at a disadvantage because men are taken as the standard, and women a poor, inferior deviation from normal. Women's colleges work to counteract that by being places that women can go to learn without sex discrimination working against them in the classroom. I'm not saying that teachers at other schools actively try to praise men and put women down (though some do, just as others actively try not to). I'm saying this is so ingrained in our culture it's almost impossible not to, particularly if you're not paying attention to it as an issue.

Wouldn't it be better for foreign students to matriculate at coed schools that share mainstream American values, and that do not subtly condescend towards the other half of humanity strictly on the basis of sex?
A) I do not think 'condescend' means what he think it means. Women's colleges do not 'condescend' towards men based on sex. Lack of admission is nowhere in the definition of 'condescend.' Condescension is starting a conversation about politics or econ, and having the guys in the group interrupt or talk over you, or outright tell you that 'the men are talking now.'
B) 'mainstream american values' meaning misogyny and sexism? because in this context, that's what it sounds like the writer is protesting. Foreign students should not go to a women's college, because then they miss out on the opportunity to go to a college that dismisses and trivializes gang rape, and in fact, dismisses and trivializes women in general. After all, 'mainstream' doesn't mean 'the majority'.

He can make a call for doing away with women's colleges when society doesn't need them any more. That day is not today. Why? because society needs women's colleges until society doesn't have sexim and misogyny anymore. We need a space that's safe for women, that focuses on women, that allows women be successful/leaders and be women at the same time. It's a place where women can learn that they, their minds, and their opinions matter, and how to make their voices be heard. That's not a lesson they're going to learn easily at a co-ed school. Co-ed schools, sad to say (particularly for someone who went to one), like greater society is stacked against you as a women. you are valued less, because you're not a boy.
So do we need women's colleges still? does that world without sexism exist yet? Have you looked around? We are not even fucking close.

addendum

[anamuan]

random thoughts:
what the fuck does having boys from other colleges in the classroom have to do with anything? i mean, ok, i can see how that would relate to 'single sex college?' but not how that supports his point in any way. it's like 'smith is ALL FEMALE and THAT IS BAD! ...except for the fact that there are some boys there already. IN CONCLUSION, MORE BOYS, LESS WOMEN PLS!'

another thing to note is how industries that gain women lose in terms of average salary. is this because the work is steadily worth less money? i don't think so--it's because women are valued less as workers.

this article makes me want to donate money to smith. i am not an alum. do you think that will be a problem? also, note to self, get money.

also, i plan to post links to this.

point for malika, actually women make up 51% of the population of the US, as of the last census data i've seen.

oh, sorry, i think, upon rereading, that this part was your opinion, so point for you: following up on the first of your final three points. even if it was written by a woman, this article would be sexist.

Re: addendum

[sillyandmorbid]

Plus it's not like there ARE lots of boys running around campus. I've had...3 classes that had boys in so far. (Danielle has had 4. She's a Smith alum and has only had 4 classes with boys in.) One of them was Chinese I. He was a high school student. One was Calc 114. There were 3 high school boys and a high school girl. One was BIO 154; there was a senior from UMass.

Also. I know that it would be sexist even if a woman wrote it. It would be all the more sad if it were written by a woman. But men writing this kind of stuff just really gets me mad.

To finish, I leave you with a quote!
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute." ~ Rebecca West.

The men who are "informally in dorms" are all either friends, family, or significant others of Smithies. You can't just waltz into a dorm. You have to be let in. Occasionally we get a stray hobo if someone has propped a door open. How is that men everywhere?

And I'm sorry but there are less female professors out there just numberwise. And you and I both know that just because you're a Ph.D.--no matter what sex--doesn't mean you're any good at teaching. Having only female professors at Smith would not benefit the school. It would disadvantage us by probability alone!

Re: addendum

[anamuan]

i really still don't see what his point was about the boys on campus. 'they are there anyway, so you should admit them'? i mean, it's not Smith (or any other women's college) is supposed to be this ALL FEMALE BASTION like a non-religious nunnery or something. but limiting admissions to women ensures that the school's resources really do go, first and foremost, to women.

It would disadvantage us by probability alone
but he wants you disadvantaged! that's the point of this article!

also, sort of related, want your school to have more female match/science majors? hire female professors.