Women’s Colleges

The subject of trans students’ inclusion at women’s colleges is one that has animated vigorous internal and public debates, protests, and policy changes since at least the early 2000s. The issue began to gain prominence as an increasing number of students came out as trans men while attending women’s colleges. The conversation then grew to include trans female and nonbinary students. As understandings of gender have broadened and deepened beyond the rigid binary in North America in the early 21st century, women’s college students, alumnae/i, faculty and staff, administrators, and trustees have had to reevaluate their frameworks for thinking about gender. In so doing, they have had to determine what the implications are for colleges dedicated to the education of women.

Trans students, alongside their queer ...