New Morehouse College Policy Bans Sagging

[DrPhil]

And there is always debate as to whether the College should be ready for "him" or whether "he" should be ready for the College. I think it is usually the latter because organizations like colleges and universities don't necessarily have to change with every change or demand in the student body.

Then again, simply based on what I know (which is limited) it seems like it isn't an issue of intolerance over sexual orientation (that happens, as well considering the athletes called one of the guys a "f*ggot") so much as it's an issue over what it means to be a man (biological sex and gender identities) at a men's college.

A similar phenomenon is happening at some women's colleges. Some women's colleges are surprisingly liberal and tolerant of the LGBT students and have larger populations of LGBT students than expected. The difference is the common belief that some lesbian and transgendered females don't "stick out" as much because they are often stereotyped as being less "flamboyant" than some homosexual and trasgendered males. A woman with short hair, wearing jeans, and a shirt (for example) is often less groundbreaking than a man wearing makeup and outfits like the men in that article were wearing on campus and around ATL.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

A similar phenomenon is happening at some women's colleges. Some women's colleges are surprisingly liberal and tolerant of the LGBT students and have larger populations of LGBT students than expected. The difference is the common belief that some lesbian and transgendered females don't "stick out" as much because they are often stereotyped as being less "flamboyant" than some homosexual and trasgendered males. A woman with short hair, wearing jeans, and a shirt (for example) is often less groundbreaking than a man wearing makeup and outfits like the men in that article were wearing on campus and around ATL.

This is a pretty big deal at Smith (and maybe some of the other of the Seven Sisters)--what it means to be a "woman" at a woman's college, and how women who identify as men mean for a woman's college. It's pretty interesting because transmen are alternately lauded and derided. I guess Smith's issue is different than Morehouse's because Smith is a pretty liberal place to begin with.

I didn't go to Smith, but transmen and women were pretty common at my college. In fact, one of my freshmen hallmates ended up going through gender transition and he made a movie about it, ended up in the NY Times and everything.

I feel like there are more open places for these men to be. College is hard enough without having to always justify your position.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

This is a pretty big deal at Smith (and maybe some of the other of the Seven Sisters)--what it means to be a "woman" at a woman's college, and how women who identify as men mean for a woman's college. It's pretty interesting because transmen are alternately lauded and derided. I guess Smith's issue is different than Morehouse's because Smith is a pretty liberal place to begin with.

I didn't go to Smith, but transmen and women were pretty common at my college. In fact, one of my freshmen hallmates ended up going through gender transition and he made a movie about it, ended up in the NY Times and everything.

I feel like there are more open places for these men to be. College is hard enough without having to always justify your position.

Thanks for the insights.

It also highlights how some people have dreams of being a "Smith woman" (or "Spelman woman," etc.) and a "Morehouse man." What does it mean to be a "woman" and "man"; and what does it mean to be a "Smith woman" or a "Morehouse man."

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I think that's the heart of the issue. I'm a b-school grad, so dressing properly and having "the right look" was important to me, but not everyone aspires to go down that path. It really shouldn't be the school's responsibility to push that on everyone.

But see, the thing is, that's part of the legacy of Morehouse. It's not going to go away overnight, if at all.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

But see, the thing is, that's part of the legacy of Morehouse. It's not going to go away overnight, if at all.

Right. I don't see any HBCUs changing THAT much. This is what I see as the big issue surrounding these events, though.