<p>I was accepted to many women’s colleges, i.e. Smith, wellesley, Bryn Mawr, and Mount Holyoke, but was wondering how prevalent lesbianism is on campus. I read the account of two smithies raping another, and that straight girls just don’t fit in at women’s colleges. Anyone know how accurate this is?</p>
<p>The majority of the women at women's colleges are straight. It is just that you have a larger and sometimes more vocal minority than you would at a coed school. Having been the object of harassment themselves they are usuall tolerant of others.</p>
<p>My D was told that the Lesbian population of Bryn Mawr is between 10-13%. Theirs is a definite presence, but it is true that the majority of the women who attend Bryn Mawr identify themselves as straight. I would hazard a guess that the incidence of sexual assault is higher at a coed school.</p>
<p>You're going to find lesbians everywhere - coed or single sex schools alike. I think that in women's colleges, lesbians feel more comfortable being "out." I also would assume they will leave you alone if you wish to be left alone. I'm straight and going to Bryn Mawr with no worries.</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about not fitting in because you're straight. As other posters have mentioned, self-identified straight women are the majority at all the colleges you mention, although a fair amount of experimentation goes on among the "straight" women. At Smith and Bryn Mawr especially, you need to be (or quickly become!) very accepting of lesbianism, but you are not likely to experience any negative pressure because you're straight.</p>
<p>That being said, as a straight woman at BMC, I wouldn't have wanted to live in Brecon. But it's one of 11 dorms; there are lots of other choices.</p>
<p>This is the world's constant question: How can 1,200 beautiful, intelligent Bryn Mawr women function without men living in their dorms? I mean, boys are walking all over campus all the time, and in many of the classes, but that can't be enough for them -- therefore, they must be 1. academically inferior, 2. all lesbians, or 3. a combination of the above.</p>
<p>Whatever, woman-haters. You don't know what it's like here unless you go here.</p>
<p>Being straight at Bryn Mawr means you're in the vast, vast majority, and you'll encounter no opposition. Mawrytrs are just not big on opposition in general. We support each other. I'm straight, and I've never been hit on by a lesbian, harrassed by a lesbian, or felt pressured to experiment with my sexuality. That just doesn't happen here, because we're all NORMAL PEOPLE who are decent and respectful of one another. Yes, we're normal, even though we can function and flourish in a mostly female environment! </p>
<p>Here's a facet of the issue most people never consider because they're too closed-minded -- Lesbians are one of the most hated groups of people in the world, but they and every other group on Bryn Mawr's campus is allowed to exist as they are and is guaranteed support and love no matter what. I'm pretty damn proud to go to a school where everyone is allowed to be whoever they are. Think about that for a minute.</p>
<p>Anyone that snubs all women's schools is missing out -- you learn so much. I can't even explain it. You just have to come. The power of the community is amazing. You will grow in so many ways. And it shows. People notice. When I meet Seven Sisters alums, I know. They get it. We're two of a kind. As E.B. White once stated about Bryn Mawr women, "As they grow in years, they grow in light." Hurrah for all-women's environments -- and this is coming from someone who, at the beginning of her senior year of high school long ago, snubbed women's colleges completely and only applied to Bryn Mawr because of the proximity to Haverford and Swat.</p>
<p>And yes, you will meet boys here. You just have to go out of your way to do so -- which is good for you. You gain social skills. And independence. And confidence. Very attractive qualities. YOU WILL LOVE IT HERE. Come here.</p>
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<p>I'm pretty damn proud to go to a school where everyone is allowed to be whoever they are. </p>
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<p>Well, I wasn't allowed to be someone who wasn't crazy about Bryn Mawr, and thought Hell Week was silly and anti-feminist and didn't participate. But if you are enthusiastic about BMC, THEN you're allowed to be whoever you are.</p>
<p>Other than that, there's a great deal in your post that I agree with.</p>
<p>My sister goes to Mount Holyoke, there are quite a few lesbians, her roomate last year was one. But the majority are straight, I mean out of all her friends only one is a lesbian.</p>
<p>Hanna, I agree with you. Some of the students especially customspeople are insistent about traditions but I usually just tell them to leave me alone. Did you transfer?</p>
<p>Yes, along with my best friend. She and I first bonded on a freezing cold Parade Night when I didn't want to get wet. My freshman year was an especially, um, enthusiastic year for Hell Week, and this friend and I were the only frosh from the two Erdman customs groups who didn't want to participate, and we caught an astonishing amount of flak. Our sophomore year, we founded the Hell Week Alternatives committee and held events for non-participating freshmen so they didn't have to sit alone in their rooms during trials and so forth like we did, but we were still very isolated from our class. In the end, I went to Harvard and she went to Penn. We're still best friends, though!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for founding the alternatives. They were awesome this year! :) I hope they didn't ruin the WHOLE week for you ...
Well, I'm glad everything worked out for you. Congrats for getting into Harvard! I am really impressed you were able to get the grades for that at BMC.</p>
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<p>Thanks so much for founding the alternatives. They were awesome this year! </p>
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<p>The HWAC is still going? Wow! I had no idea! Since both of the founders transferred the following year, we didn't even know whether it would just be a one-time thing. What kinds of things did they do this year? In 1997, we sent Valentines to all the frosh (because we were uncomfortable with lizards), we organized a trip to the movies during trials, we had a Valentine-making party another night, and we encouraged all the non-participating frosh to go to bedtime stories.</p>
<p>I'm going to tell the other founder (the one who went to Penn) about this. I'm really surprised and pleased!</p>
<p>Just curious- what exactly is BMC hell week?</p>
<p>intheory, it's impossible to answer that question in a way that's both thorough and value-neutral. Suffice it to say that it's a tradition that's been going on for about sixty years that involves upperclassmen in each dorm holding mock trials for frosh, who are found guilty by the seniors and sentenced to "hell week," whereupon sophomore "hellers" create tasks for the frosh (like wearing costumes to class, taking joke surveys of people in the dining hall, making posters, etc.). The week includes some surprises/secrets that might be compared to sorority initiation.</p>
<p>Opinion about hell week on campus ranges from the adoring (it is the highlight of college life; best thing about BMC) to fiercely negative (it's hazing; anti-feminist; abusive).</p>