Confessions of a Stereotype: 500 Words on Being a Lesbian at a Women's College | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Confessions of a Stereotype: 500 Words on Being a Lesbian at a Women's College

Just because there are more of you doesn't mean you stop being a minority.

450
Confessions of a Stereotype: 500 Words on Being a Lesbian at a Women's College
Oteo

At the tender age of seventeen, I went up to New England to look at colleges. I had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College and to Smith College, so I toured both. I sat down at a table with my parents and extended family at a Chili's in northern Connecticut for a brief reconnaissance. Everyone agreed that Smith was a great fit for me, but my aunt had some additional input. "Be careful," she told me, as she leaned toward me conspiratorially. "There are a lot of lesbians there."


Those words were weird to hear then, as I was just starting to come to terms with the crush I was harboring for my best friend. They're even weirder to reflect on now, as I enter my final year at Smith and have finally started to feel comfortable identifying as a lesbian. (I totally dated my best friend for three years, by the way.)

When I was little, I learned "lesbian" as a slur rather than an identity. Girls grow up knowing little about the L in LGBTQ+ other than that it is something to fear—lesbians are the "Other," to borrow from feminist theorist Simone De Beauvoir. Lesbians are oppressed in two different ways: as women, and as non-straight individuals. That means that, while straight women might share some of our struggles, they also aid in our oppression. One of my least favorite instances of this is the stereotype that women's colleges are “full of” lesbians. While I love to hear my lesbian friends joke about the staggering amounts of galpallery on our campus, I rarely hear straight people comment on it in a way that doesn't come across as homophobic.

Yes, there are more non-straight women on our campus than on others, but straight women only seem to answer this stereotype in the positive when it is with a sense of aggravation or humor. "Sure, there’s a lot of ‘that’ here, but,” they start, as if only willing to acknowledge our existence to affirm theirs. Another, more flagrantly homophobic version of this is, “Not everyone at Smith is a lesbian,” as exemplified in articles by Buzzfeed, Wiselikeus.com and Boston.com. While it may seem innocuous to point this out—given that it is, at face value, true—I seriously question why straight women are so amped to distance themselves from us, if they do not feel threatened by our presence. I’ve also seen my straight peers grossly overestimate the ratio of non-straight-to-straight women on our campus, claiming that what I would estimate to be a 30/70 breakdown is more like 50/50, which reminds me of a telling study conducted on men in regards to women.

So, if you’re a straight woman at a women’s college and you don’t want to alienate your lesbian friends, be conscious of phrases like the above. After all, these four years in a safe space like Smith (or Wellesley, or Simmons, or Agnes Scott) are the only ones we have!

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

1436
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

964
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

205
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1612
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments