Beyond Acceptance: Serving the Needs of Transgender Students at Women’s Colleges

Authors

Annie Freitas, Tulane UniversityFollow

Abstract

The inclusion of transgender students in women’s colleges has been widely debated on campuses and in the media. Despite some opposition, transgender students at women’s colleges are growing in number and visibility. This study examines the ways that transgender students’ experiences differ from the experiences of cisgender students in both single-sex and co-educational environments. Conclusions are based on assessments of support, reported attitudes towards transgender students, and reported knowledge about transgender history and social issues using responses to a survey completed by 184 students at a variety of colleges and universities. The study found significant differences between women’s colleges and co-educational universities such that women’s colleges were rated as more supportive for all students and students at women’s colleges reported significantly more positive attitudes towards transgender students. Additionally, transgender students at women’s colleges reported more positive overall experiences of college, as compared to transgender students at co-educational colleges. Given that the sample was majority white, cisgender, women’s college students, the measures used should be replicated in order to determine the generalizability of these results.

Recommended Citation

Freitas, Annie. 2017. "Beyond Acceptance: Serving the Needs of Transgender Students at Women’s Colleges." Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 1 (39): 294-314. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55671/0160-4341.1026