“Simmons is a queer space and has been for quite a while,” says Sarah Leonard, Associate Professor of History. Leonard sees this as a natural continuity of the institution’s values, not in opposition to Simmons legacy as women-centered.
“It’s not a coincidence that these historically women’s-centered spaces become spaces in which people feel comfortable having more fluid gender identities and sexualities,” Leonard says, adding that it’s not unusual for students to transition their gender or sexual identity while at Simmons. “It seems paradoxical, but I’ve found that gender-bound spaces are safer spaces in which to explore gender.”
This safety is also present in the graduate programs, according to Leonard. “It’s a very gender fluid, queer-friendly population. I also teach cis-gender men, but it’s clear they’re all allies. It reflects the broader culture at Simmons.”
Leonard teaches the Seminar in the History of Women and Gender: “Queer Histories,” last offered in Spring 2023. The seminar examines how scholars research and write histories of people whose love lives, sexualities, gender expressions, domestic arrangements, and relationships to respectability have existed outside social norms. It also examines the complexities of researching experiences and identities that were stigmatized and often silenced.
History graduate student Maggie Murphy ’23MA, who identifies as trans, enjoyed a similarly “gender diverse” undergraduate experience at Mount Holyoke College. They describe Leonard’s seminar as their favorite class at Simmons, praising the readings and class discussions. “It was a diverse set of readings, some were academic and others more narrative, and they touched on a lot of different spaces within the queer community.”
The class read Cathy J. Cohen’s “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?” which Murphy mentioned as eye-opening. “It challenged us to expand the definition of queer to anybody whose sexuality is out of societal norms, including single mothers and interracial relationships. At first I thought, no, but [by the end of the discussion] I thought, maybe this is a better way to look at things!” It’s important to understand queerness as more than labeling an individual’s sexuality. From a political and ethical standpoint, it inherently revolts against the status quo. “My biggest takeaway from the class would be to challenge labels,” says Murphy. “When you put any label under a microscope, it kind of falls apart.”
While Queer Histories doesn’t look at a chronology of events, there also wasn’t any expected background knowledge required. “Not all the students in the class were queer, but everyone had their own reasons for taking the class,” noted Murphy. “When we did our introductions, [Prof. Leonard] asked us not to say our majors or if we were undergraduates or graduate students. It created this nice, even intellectual playing field, right from the start.”
One of Leonard’s students, Wakaba Hisatomi ’24MA, who identifies as nonbinary, was drawn to the Master of Arts in Gender and Cultural Studies for its focus on cultural representations of gender. Hisatomi is interested in 20th century French philosophy and beauty normativity, specifically, how the ideal beautiful body is socially defined in different cultures and regions of the world.
An international student from Japan, Hisatomi has found Simmons to be very welcoming. “There are so many gender inclusive groups on campus,” they say. “In Japan, Korea, and the UK, the backlash against trans and non-conforming people is problematic and serious.” They note that the Japanese language tends not to use gendered pronouns as often as English does, so the culture of preferred pronouns is new to them. “It’s important to educate students and professors to respect other people’s pronouns and our identity.”
Hisatomi says that the Queer Histories Seminar was challenging, but they learned a lot. “I learned about feminist history in college; it was new for me to learn about U.S. queer history. It gave me new insights. It’s a challenge to change the way research is conducted, or the way history is recorded and discussed. It’s difficult to break a framework that has existed for a long time. That is the reason why the work is especially important.”
For those in and outside of the queer community, how can we best offer support and allyship?
Murphy encourages everyone to introduce themselves with their pronouns, so as not to unintentionally single out those who prefer they/them or other non-standard pronouns. “Creating moments of transparent facilitation is really important,” they say. “Learn how to openly correct yourself when you misgender someone. Just acknowledge it. It doesn’t make you a terrible person. I accidentally misgender my friends all the time. Don’t expect perfection of yourself or of others. Do expect effort — that’s more important than anything else.”
Also, keep in mind that effort and a willingness to learn are key. “If you’ve never met a trans person and never knew about [preferred] pronouns, you can say, I’m going to learn more. Or, this is too confusing and it challenges too much of my worldview,” says Murphy. “When [people] publicly signal [themselves] at that intersection and get yelled at, called transphobic, they’ll back down.” Being afraid of the choice can, Murphy says, push people toward transphobic rhetoric. “We all need to understand that it’s a work in progress,” Murphy cautions, noting that transphobia is identifiable “only when people have proven themselves to be actively avoiding putting in the work.”
To this point, Professor Leonard praises Simmons as an exciting, creative space where faculty can learn from their students. “I’ve had so many students show enormous grace with me when I’ve made mistakes, such as saying the wrong pronouns [when addressing a student]. My students have been steadfast in working with me on this. It’s prompted conversations and, if anything, has been a source of connection that I’ve had with students who want to articulate themselves.”
Murphy encourages incoming students to be open to a conversation, but don’t be afraid to ask Google (though it’s best to avoid sponsored results). “There’s this weird expectation that you need to hear it from somebody who is experiencing these things,” says Murphy, “and that puts undo expectation on people experiencing it.” Murphy suggests www.them.us and www.autostraddle.com for queer perspectives, and NPR’s Guide to Gender Identity Terms and www.pronouns.org.
Suzanne Leonard, Professor of Literature and Writing, and the director of the MA in Gender and Cultural Studies, remarked, “In light of legislation limiting the rights of trans people, I think spaces like Simmons become more necessary and crucial to people’s survival. There has never been a better time for Simmons to be in the world.”
Resources for LGBTQ+ students
- Student Affairs
- Student Support & Resources
- Organizational Culture, Inclusion & Equity
- Student Health Insurance
- Health Promotion and Wellness Support
- REEF Support Center
Visit Activism@Simmons for information about LGBT Rights Activism at Simmons.