Women's Colleges and Trans Students

I really enjoyed reading all of these articles, and thinking about the complex issues they raise. It seems like there are two aspects to the question of how a women’s college should handle the admittance and attendance of trans students. First there is the question of whether students who are trans women, such as Calliope Wong, should be allowed to attend women’s colleges. Second is the question of whether trans men, such as Rey, should be allowed to attend women’s colleges. In my personal view, coming from someone who loves spending time at Bryn Mawr, but is enrolled at a co-educational college, I see the first question as quite simple. It is clear to me that trans women should be accepted to women’s colleges. Calliope and students in similar situations who haven’t made a physical or legal transition should have the same opportunities afforded to them that cis-gender women enjoy. I know that since Feldman’s article was written, Mount Holyoke has changed its policy and now allows all students who identify as women to apply (More information about that here: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/policies/admission-transgender-students). This of course leads me (and I imagine many other students) to question why Bryn Mawr hasn’t changed its policy. It seems like this is not a title IX question, and I am not really sure what the actual issue is.

While I believe that the second question, whether students such as Rey should be accepted into women’s colleges, should also be answered with giving students the flexibility to choose what kind of school they want to attend, I understand that there could be a bit more of a backlash to this. My personal belief is that Rey should get to choose whatever school he wants to attend. Women’s colleges are built on the foundation of trying to equalize opportunities for women and men, and trans men are absolutely not afforded the same opportunities today as cis-men. I see how someone might think that by a trans man attending a women’s school he is taking away from the all-female environment, but I don’t think that should trump the desire of the student who is trans. I do wonder why a trans man would want to apply to a women’s college (if he already identifies as a man), but I believe that is his decision.