Queer History at Smith

Smith College has been queer from its very beginnings. Queer, of course, has many meanings, and although Smith hasn’t always been explicitly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, the theoretical form of “queer,” which stems from the LGBT experience, certainly applies to Smith from its very conception. Queer can be used to describe actions and people that transgress the social norms of gender and sexuality. ¹ Founded as a women’s college at a time when women’s primary roles were caretakers and homemakers, Smith’s queerness and gender transgression began with its very creation. From there, the students of Smith have continued to explore, challenge, play with, and transgress gender and sexual roles in a variety of ways. Though not all of these examples would be thought of as gay or trans by today’s standards, as people of the 21st century, we can learn about this behavior, acknowledge that it might not still fit into our modern categories, but still appreciate the ways in which our modern experiences might intersect and mirror these histories in a variety of ways.

One of the early manifestations of queer history at Smith were the ‘romantic friendships’ of the late 19th century. In various archival documents such as student letters, photographs, scrapbooks, and other memorabilia, traces of close friendships between friends with romantic intensity are present. Whether or not these relationships were sexual, these romantic friendships were very important to the women within them, showing the strong homosocial ties between women at Smith. A whole culture of romantic friendship arose during this time at Smith and many other women’s colleges. ² A variety of student publications reference “crushes” which was a word for a freshman who romantically admired a senior. Seniors would invite these younger students to dances or chapel. ³  Crossdressing was also a feature of Smith’s early history, in a variety of arenas. Smith’s theater productions allowed women to dress in “masculine” attire and play male roles. President Seeyle tried to place a ban on this practice in 1881, but Smith students found ways around the ban, and eventually the ban fizzled out or was lifted. ⁴ Smith students also explored dressing in pants and suits through dances, such as “half-man” dances. All of these practices, and more, allowed for students to explore gender, sexuality, and their feelings for each other in a variety of ways.

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Much less is known about LGBT history from the 1920s-60s, likely due in part to the growing pathologization of homosexuality. Undoubtedly, Smith students continued to explore gender and sexuality in their own ways during this time. In the early 1970s, a group of lesbian and gay women called “Sophia’s Sisters”  organized on campus. The organization fizzled out, but in 1976, the Lesbian Alliance formed.  ⁶ You can learn more about the Smith College Lesbian Alliance on the page entitled “Lesbian Alliance” of this website. Beginning during this era, lesbians on Smith’s campus became more and more visible. News reports about lesbians on campus lead the college’s administration to publicly address the “lesbian issue” on many occasions throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Though certainly sometimes overblown, the reports, and reactions to lesbians at Smith were responding to a real visible queerness on Smith’s campus.

Though people we today call gender non-conforming, non-binary, and trans have certainly existed at the college from its’ beginning, the public conversation surrounding these groups began in the early 2000s. The LBA began to widen its reach to trans people in the early 2000s. ⁷ Though out trans people existed at Smith for a long time, it was only in 2015, after Smith denied a trans woman admission and students began protests against the policy, that transgender women were allowed admission into Smith. ⁸   As of 2021, the college allows anyone who “identifies as a woman” to the College, but acknowledges and accepts that people of all gender identities are at Smith, many of whom come out or transition after coming to Smith. ⁹ Many students argue that all trans, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary people should be accepted to Smith, and the conversation regarding these issues continues and evolves.

As the largest still-operating historically women’s undergraduate college, Smith and its queerness remains in the public eye. Though obviously not all students at Smith are queer, some studies have shown that the majority of the student body does identify as LGBTQ in some way. ¹⁰  No matter the numbers, queerness makes up an important part of the college’s past, present, and future. Queer students can learn about the queer past of Smith to help them understand their place at the College, and as assurance that they follow in a long line of Smithies challenging society’s gender and sexual expectations.