When transgender students are discussed at Smith, a theme emerges in the questions raised by non-trans students: Why would a student who is not a woman be at a "women's college" in the first place? To respond, trans students are here for a variety of reasons. College in general, and in particular our open and diverse campus, is conducive to self-discovery. Some of us came here identifying as women, and found that Smith has provided the environment we've needed to explore, acknowledge, and come to terms with being transgender.
Smith is a "women's college," but this requirement is placed only upon assigned sex, not gender identity or expression. This policy allows for the admission of transgender students who were assigned female, but excludes some self-identified women. This means that every student at Smith has been or is regularly and pervasively oppressed on the basis of gender. It is our feeling that an institution of higher learning for people who have been at a disadvantage in the classroom because of their gender was Sophia Smith’s goal for Smith College. We therefore believe that Smith is a space not only for the women, transgender, and otherwise gender variant folks who already attend, but also for individuals who are still excluded from our community. For Smith to truly fulfill its intended duties, we need to re-evaluate the inhabitants of our space and include the rest of the population of women who are routinely excluded from women’s spaces.
We feel that the question(s) should not be, "Why are transgender students at Smith, and do they belong here?" but rather, "What can we do to make Smith College a safer and more supportive place for currently enrolled, future, and prospective transgender students?” As well as “How can we begin to find room in our community for our sisters who are continually excluded?”