Debunking Myths about Women’s Colleges

While students at MHC take pride in the nontraditional college experiences, many others who are not familiar with the women’s college concept still wonder the lingering question of “why?”  For example, perspective students may ask “Why would you want to go to a women’s college?” or “But don’t you want a normal college experience?”

Whether you’re a MoHo student, a prospective, or just looking for answers to the stated above, there are certain characteristics about MoHo that are more or less the same as any other undergraduate colleges.  Here are some – of many – stereotypes of MoHo (and womens’ colleges in general) that might be a shocker to those outside the realm of MoHo.

1.  Since women are generally neat and clean, their dorms are a lot nicer/neater/cleaner.  False.  While MoHo does have amazing dorms (hence, Dorms like Palaces in the Princeton Review), the neatness of the dorms are simply up to the students.  Perhaps you may be surprised to learn that women can be pretty messy too – just come look at the bathrooms on any given weekday!  Those 30-minute-long showers times 20 students per floor can be pretty ugly at the end of the day.

2.  Everyone is sexually curious or have already switched sides.  False, again.  No doubt there is quite a population of nonconforming genders and sexuality at Mount Holyoke (and majority of the student body welcomes/accepts them!), there are also women who are more straightedge than a ruler.  There are super-girly women whose favorite color is pink and wear bows in their hair.  The reality is, gender doesn’t have much to do with being in a women’s college for most students.  MoHos truly care about their education and their academic standings more than society’s judgment.

3.  Everyone is a soon-to-be-nun.  (Personal anecdote: when I told my friends that I was going to a women’s college, their typical response was that I was going to become a nun.)  Negative.  MoHo was once a nunnery, but those were the days of Mary Lyon.  But even then, she was a pretty liberal – to even think of a liberal arts education to produce women who impact history on a daily basis.

4.  Everyone is a feminist.  Nope.  Not everyone!  While there is a push to bring equality in every aspect after the students leave this campus, most don’t fall into the mainstream liberal feminist-y stereotypes.  Just because someone is a Gender Studies major does not instantly make them a feminist or worst, someone seen as man-hating picketer in Washington.  Students come to MoHo to learn and to be more or less scholarly, not to whine and complain.

5.  Women at women’s colleges don’t know how to interact with men.  Perhaps this is slightly more true than the four stated above, but nevertheless, the four years students spend on this campus does not mean they never leave!  There are plenty of social occasions when men are present and MoHos do interact with them!  On another note – this also does not mean that there are no men at all on this campus – they take classes here from Amherst, UMASS, and Hampshire.  And on the contrary to what most people think, women at women’s colleges are not that desperate to find men – hence, most of them wouldn’t be here in the first place if that was a priority.

So, the next time you see a MoHo woman or any women from a women’s college, rethink your own judgments and question whether they’re actually accurate.  Because most women who go to women’s colleges will tell you that there’s no other special place.