All-Women's schools

I went to visit my best friend at Smith College over spring break. It was really interesting and different to be at an all women's school. I don't think I would enjoy being in an all-women environment, but I do understand why some people would like it. My friend had transferred to Smith after attending a coed school. She was frustrated about a lot of the things in the school, but what prompted her to go to an all girls schools was the interaction of girls and guys in class. She felt she would thrive in a different environment. I feel that women's schools are trying to have women get ahead but by alientating half of the population.
When I was there, everybody was very nice, but the subject of boys still came up a lot. The fact that there weren't boys there seemed to foster more conversation about boys themselves. Here, my friends and I talk about boys, but a lot of times it is just about mutual friends or classmates. I felt like boys were sort of idolized because of their absence. It was always a big event when they saw a male their age; my friend told me that on an average day, she sees about ten males her age.

I found that the lesbian community was much more out at the school. According to my friend there are a lot of campus debates about letting people who have come to identify as female to male stay/go to Smith, since they don't identify as female, at an all girls school.

I went to a 'psychology of gender' class with my friend, and it made me appreciate the male input in our class. The class was really interesting; the topic was the fluidity of gender. There was some discussion about males, but there was no male there to share their experiences. I think it is important to have both sides of a story, and I value the opportunity we have in this class.