The Ridiculous Reason A Women’s College Rejected A Trans Woman Applicant

Danielle Paradis discusses trans woman Calliope Wong’s recent rejection from Smith College, a university known for its focus on women’s rights.

Smith College has a peppy slogan, “She Went to Smith,” that highlights some of the brilliant alumni who have graduated, including Julia Child, Gloria Steinem, and Syliva Plath. The college has about 2,600 undergraduates on campus, and 250 students studying elsewhere, and is the largest privately endowed college for women in the country. Smith College’s reputation is based on being a very progressive and liberal school focused on the rights of women. Under that banner, they currently admit trans women who are female on paper, but male-identified, and transsexual individuals who have undergone reassignment surgery from male to female, or those who identify as female.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when they rejected trans woman Calliope Wong, returning her application for admission and the fee, stating that Smith is a women’s college and applicants must be female at the time of admission. The admission requirements were very demanding and Wong was told that all school records must indicate that she is a female, and there was a discrepancy in her FAFSA (a federal financial aid form). On her Tumblr Wong retells the story of her communication with Smith officials: 

Dean Shaver’s words to me over the summer, when I was still trying to figure out Smith’s transgender-acceptance policies, were that: “It seems to me that if your teachers provide the language you suggest, all your pronouns would be female and therefore consistent with what Smith is expecting.” She spoke of school papers and transcripts consistently reflecting “female” for my application. Nowhere was there mention of FAFSA, a federal financial aid form.

On her blog, Calliope explains why the policies requiring her to have undergone sexual reassignment present such an obstacle, not only to her but to other transwomen as well:

“transwomen are most likely not ready for surgery at 17 or 18, the typical age of a college applicant. It’s a monumental personal decision that usually arises from years of introspection and deliberation.”

“transwomen may not even feel the need for genital surgery. Some transwomen do not experience extreme dysphoria about the state of their genitalia, and opt not to undergo vaginoplasty.”

“genital surgery is notoriously expensive (several tens of thousands of dollars, easily), and many transwomen cannot afford to pay for vaginoplasty at this point in their lives.”

The policies are somewhat confusing for a female-identified trans who has not undergone reassignment surgery. After some initial attention about Wong’s case, Mac Hamilton, the Smith Student Government Diversity chair posted some clarification around the admission polices: “Trans*women are allowed to apply to Smith. Smith does not ask for verification that applicants are female—no birth certificate, no passport, etc. You just must check the ‘female’ box on the Common Application. The only time admissions would ask about the sex of the applicant would be if there was an inconsistent use of pronouns throughout the application, including in reference letters.”

The necessity of regularity through the use of pronouns assumes a lot about the acceptance and involvement of authority figures within a young transperson’s life. They may not have the support of acceptance of their cis-community (those who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth). Additionally, even this clarification is problematic for a trans applicant: In order for a trans woman to be considered for admission to Smith College, she must check the “female” option on the Common Application, regardless of whether her legal sex is female at the time of application. Seems simple enough until you read the official advice in regards to this on the Common Application Questions area of the website:

“How should I answer the sex question? Federal guidelines mandate that we collect data on the legal sex of all applicants. Please report the sex currently listed on your birth certificate. If you wish to provide more details regarding your sex or gender identity, you are welcome to do so in the Additional Information section.”

So a transwoman who has not yet undergone sexual reassignment surgery would likely follow the advice, and in not declaring herself female, she would not qualify under the admissions policy.

Smith isn’t presenting honestly with the argument that allowing male-identified students would jeopardize the funding status of a single-sex school. It may be that Smith is trying to appear inclusive with complicated policies that make trans women applications confusing, while the college is still able to stay aligned with its more conservative donors. As a private school, they are going to take precautions against alienating the people who fill their coffers.

As a cis-woman who struggled enough through the admissions process to a local university, I can only imagine how much frustration Wong must have gone through having to jump through administrative hoops, and navigate the difficult-to-decipher (and seemingly shiftable) policies regarding her admission. Overall though, it is just disappointing that an institution that claims to be progressive is using bureaucracy as a tactic to marginalize and discriminate against a woman.

Danielle Paradis is a writer and blogger scribbling furiously across the feminist internet onFem 2.0Flurt MagazinePersephone Magazine, and Paradigm Shift NYC. She’s completing a Masters in Learning & Technology at Royal Roads University. Danielle currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta. Learn more at Danielleparadis.com.

Related Links: