Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 02/26/2010
How Far We’ve Come: College
yayy college
It’s true- when people ask if we still need feminism I get really indignant and start yelling at them that of course we do, why a perfect example is last week when you told me to go make you a sandwich. But it’s sort of a victory as well, that people see the world, or at least America, as having come a long way.
And we have come a long way. But a lot of that was only in the past 100 years, which, in the scheme of things, is a ridiculously short time.
Consider education. It’s second semester of my junior year, so I’m feeling the college pressure right now. As I type, my College Board approved SAT Practice Book is sitting next to me. And yet, for all the bitching I do about the college process, this is a relatively new pressure that I’m pretty lucky to have.
Let’s look at the facts.
Coeducation in college didn’t start until 1837 (172 years ago), and then only a few women were admitted to Oberlin.
In 1965, Princeton‘s boy to girl ratio was 320:1 – yeah ten girls went to Princeton.
Princeton was one of the longest hold out schools to let girls in.
I guess one of Princeton’s biggest worries was that the women would distract the serious, hardworking college boys from their studies, as a Duke student stated:
“The facts: Females having the required intellectual aptitudes to compete successfully in your classrooms will not exactly measure up to the dreams you entertain while reading Playboy.” (Time Magazine, 1965)
Ergo- girls smart enough to get into Princeton will be ugly. First of all, screw you. And second of all, yeah, like every single one of the boys smart enough to get into Princeton will look like Robert Pattinson. My ass.
Another patriarchal concern? The competition with boys. If colleges started letting girls in…there would be less space for guys. THE HORROR.
1965…for those keeping track at home, that’s 44 years ago. Your parents were probably alive then. Your grandparents were probably middle aged. That’s not exactly ancient history.
Columbia’s the best though. They started admitting girls in 1983. 26 years ago. The NYC member of the Ivy League waited until the age of spandex and Madonna before they deemed women acceptable.
So, even though its hard, in the midst of all that stressing about whether to take the ACTs or the SATs, whether to go on that community service trip over the summer- just remember you are lucky to have that stress.
I think my mom told me that once and I nearly ripped her eyes out so I understand if you feel the same way. But still. It’s also a very timely way to remind your peers that we still need feminism!
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Post Your Comment
Amy CT @ at 12:39 pm, February 26th, 2010
I think it was even worse in many parts of Britain… although, we seem to look at all-female colleges (COLLEGES, not UNIVERITIES – they’re very different here) in a negative light. And there are only three left. And they are all at Cambridge.
Still, 1983?!? Geeeez…
Claire @ at 1:44 pm, February 26th, 2010
In some catons of Switzerland they couldn’t even vote till about ’89.
Unfortunately that’s not 1889, that’s 1989.
Toongrrl @ at 2:01 pm, February 26th, 2010
Can someone tell me what’s with those stereotypes of Ivy League women being either unattractive or that they don’t wash their hair?
typhonatemybaby @ at 2:05 pm, February 26th, 2010
using my extraordinary math(s) skills i have claculated that 100 years is 2% of 5000 years. This factual innaccuracy is reprehensible at best, especially in a post regarding higher educational institutions.
Lizzy @ at 8:16 am, February 27th, 2010
In Sweden (where I live) many feminists, and even people who doesn’t label themselves feminists, sometimes looks in horror at how far from gender equality USA is compared to Sweden. You definitively still need feminism (and we do too of course).
KS @ at 11:22 am, February 27th, 2010
To look on the bright side, despite the short history of women’s education, they’re all over the place now! We just need to keep pushing forward!
KS
Jaded16 @ at 12:04 pm, February 27th, 2010
I think it’s important to see that how many women use that opportunity. I live in India and out here most girls prefer to marry than to study.
Educating girls is a huge issue here and the Government simply doesn’t show enough interest.
It all comes down to us feminists to further this message.
Feminism isn’t over. In fact, we’ve just started our movement.
Becca @ at 1:53 pm, February 27th, 2010
@typhonatemybaby: First of all, what are you referring to? I couldn’t find an example of Julie using the phrase 2% in the article anywhere.
Secondly, everyone is capable of making mistakes, as is shown by your spelling of “calculated”. Calm down.
Nellie @ at 4:57 pm, February 27th, 2010
Great post!
And now we’re seeing panic over the number of women in college, like the New York Times article that bemoaned the “lack of guys” on campus.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/fashion/07campus.html?pagewanted=1&ref=fashion
clai @ at 3:01 am, March 1st, 2010
My mother went to university, my grandmother went to university and my great-grandmother went to university, and they’ve never said anything about having any dificulty in this way. But that was Ireland, and Australia, I don’t know what it was like in the states.
typhonatemybaby @ at 4:23 pm, March 1st, 2010
dude, i am calm. she edited the post. i just get annoyed at things like this.
Dia @ at 2:50 pm, March 2nd, 2010
The stereotype doesn’t even end at college. You get there,do all this work to get a good job, then no one wants to date you because you’re doing better than them. There’s are afew all girl colleges though, like Sweet Briar College.
And the high school I went to didn’t even let in black students for the longest. So if I was in high school when my mom was I wouldn’t have been able to go there.
JAG @ at 1:58 pm, March 5th, 2010
I’m a little embarrassed to note that my dad (a Columbia alum) stopped giving money to them after they admitted women, and would freely admit it to the (sometimes female) students who called in phonathons.
But then my sister got into Columbia, and he was thrilled, and he had to admit that actually, maybe having women there wasn’t an entirely a bad thing.
P.S. Oh, and if you’re going to use a photo of my college dorm, at least give the big H some credit!
That’s Dunster House.
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Rene Bomzer @ at 7:04 pm, April 17th, 2010
Madonna is definitely the top celebrities in Hollywood. I definitely wish she keeps on going.
Tejal @ at 4:57 am, May 13th, 2010
hmm..I’m an Indian, and from India, the situation in the US seems far better….It’s disgusting that, in India, if a girl is unmarried after the age of 25-26, people think there’s something wrong with her…..
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