Being transgender is when a person’s gender identity does not conform with their biological sex. Speculating on how people are identifying as a transgender individual is a difficult and very controversial topic to discuss due to the fact that nobody knows what is morally correct. One author, Ruth Padawer, has brought the topic to light, presenting us with examples from one of the most prestigious women’s colleges in the United States. In her 2014 piece, “Sisterhood is Complicated”, she ponders on the idea of if people who identify as transgender should be permitted to attend an all women’s college. In her piece, she states that, “Some two dozen other matriculating students at Wellesley don’t identify as women. Of those, a half dozen …show more content…
Alex broke the transgender barrier in addition to the other students. Alex’s family has a tradition for the girls in their family to attend Wellesley College. Both Alex’s mother and sister are both alumni. Wellesley college has a hoop rolling race for the seniors every year, and Alex’s mother won the hoop rolling contest when she attended the college. While Alex was growing up, his mother trained him so that he could succeed when it was his turn to participate in the race. After 131 years, Alex broke the tradition of a woman winning the race. Apparently, the winner of this race is the first to have “happiness and success, or whatever that means to her” as stated by the head of Wellesley College. With Alex being a man, happiness to him is being viewed as a male and winning the hoop contest was important to …show more content…
It is a hazard, both mentally and physically, to these transgender students attending an all women’s school. I have confidence that Padawer does a fine job informing us as readers on a modern issue like gender identity through stories of students at Wellesley College. They face complications such as bullying, humiliation, and sexual assault daily, and the problem is often neglected because of the fact that they are male.
I understand why these trans male students think it is okay for them to attend an all women’s college. At one point in their life, they were women. This all happened when they made up their mind to attend an all women’s college. The purpose of the all women’s college is to break barriers of men holding power positions in society. However, having a trans male student on campus, attending class, and being involved in activities puts the school in a bit of a predicament. I strongly disagree with allowing trans males in an all women’s