Gendering the Nation Online Museum Exhibit
Created by the class of HIST 465 (Topics in Women's History) 2015-16
Queens University, Canada
Skirts in School
Queen's University Women's Admission Timeline
This room will explore women’s experiences in Canadian universities in the twentieth century. Women faced many more obstacles than men did when it came to higher education. First, there was the struggle for their admission into the male dominated intellectual realm. Even then, the problems didn’t stop there. Campus life had to accommodate the presence of women by building residences and restructuring social clubs and activities. More often than not, women formed their own clubs and teams when they were prevented from joining the men’s teams. The artifacts and images of this exhibit demonstrate how women had to negotiate their place in a male dominated space. Women had to work around these obstacles to prove that not only did they belong in university, but that they were an integral part of campus life.
Comparative Timeline
Women campaigned very hard to be admitted into institutions of higher learning. These campaigns were largely successful, and by the beginning of the twentieth century most universities opened their doors to women. However, things did not end there. Women were admitted on specific conditions and when they tried to renegotiate these conditions they were threatened with expulsion, as seen with the women of the Queen’s Medical School. Such cases indicate that women continued to face opposition even after they gained entry into higher education.
“A difficulty, which has been anticipated, occurred in the Medical College a few days ago. One of the professors, in the course of his lecture, gave utterance to a natural fact. It appears to have been received as an insult by the ladies, and they arose and left the room. The Professor, whose character is above reproach felt grieved at the proceedings. From our knowledge of his life we must say a puerer minded man cannot be found, and his desire to see graduates well versed in medical science is his only excuse for using expressions that have been wrongly construed. The students (male) met and unanimously carried a series of resolutions, indicating their sympathy with the Professor and urging the Faculty to close the College against females. They now presented the resolutions to the Professor, who, in replying, said that hitherto he had suppressed important information owing the presence of the ladies; but in future he would not do so. The ladies had adopted the profession of medicine and should not feel aggrieved when any plain statements were made in its study. He would be the last person to say ought that would bring blush to the cheek of the most virtuous. Another Professor seems also to have incurred the ladies’ displeasure and they will not attend his lectures. This gentleman, whose reputation is widespread, holds the same opinion as the Professor first alluded to. He believed that if ladies desired to study medicine, to become specialists they would have to discuss every portion of the human system. Whether they became missionaries or otherwise they should verse themselves in all departments, so that when they graduated they would be an honour to the institution. The Professor declared that everything he said to the students in his lectures should be known by them in the interests of science; no utterance of his was made for any other purpose. The ladies have absented themselves from a number of lectures. This evening the Faculty meet and deliberate upon this question."
"College Difficulty" Daily British Whig, 8 Dec 1882: Digital Kingston.
This is an 1882 Daily British Whig article that outlining the women’s expulsion from the Medical School controversy. The incident was triggered when a professor, Dr. Fenwick, during a lecture on the larynx, compared women’s higher pitched voices to apes. The female students were offended and walked out of the lecture. This incident sparked the proceedings to expel women from the Medical School altogether. They would ultimately be successful in expelling women from the Medical School in 1883 and they would not be readmitted until 1943. The article takes a clear stance on the side of the males, as demonstrated by its defence of the professor’s character and the sentiment that women should be able to handle the “facts” if they are choosing this profession.
Daily British Whig Article "College Difficulty"
Elizabeth Smith Shortt Diary Entry
“I am so glad for Sundays & I make good use of them - sleep - sleep - sleep & would you believe it I only go to church once as a rule & that to Convocation Hall - where we have able Divines of diff [i.e. different] denoms [i.e. denominations]. I am getting vain - so very vain these days - when so much flattery & so many kindnessess [sic] are current - especially among the gentlemen - Still I have not forgotten how to blush - all over my face - heard down town - or at Mrs Leslie's where I met an Arts Student [...]
"WS101, Meet Elizabeth Smith Shortt." Special Collections & Archives. 2016. Accessed March 15, 2016. https://uwaterloo.ca/library/special-collections-archives/blog/post/ws101-meet-elizabeth-smith-shortt.
This is an excerpt from the diary of Elizabeth Smith Shortt. She was one of the first female students to graduate from medical school in 1884, despite the anti-female sentiment prevalent on campus at this time. Students from the University of Waterloo transcribed this passage. This entry is from 1882, which would have been Elizabeth’s first year of medical school. It is also the same year that Dr. Fenwick gave the controversial lecture that led to the women’s expulsion. Shortt refers to the “kindnesses” she receives from the gentlemen of the program, which contradicts the assumption that all men were extremely hostile towards the women. However, this “kindness” may have been a strategy to distract them from their studies. Some sources say that this kindness was a form of mockery. This takes “killing them with kindness” to a new level as it would ultimately improve their case to have the women expelled.
Convocation 1884
(left to right) Elizabeth Smith, Elizabeth Beatty, Alice McGillivray. Queen’s University Picture Collection. “Convocations” 1884 Women Graduates. Queen’s University Archives. V28-CON-1884-1.
This is a photograph of the first three women to graduate from the Queen’s School of Medicine in 1884. Elizabeth Smith Shortt, the woman who kept a diary of her experiences at Queen’s, is on the left. In the middle is Elizabeth Beatty and on the right is Alice McGillivray. According to Carlotta Hacker who published a book, The Indomitable Lady Doctors, about the female pioneers in the medical field, they were “an unlikely threesome, each with a different temperament, but all feminists at heart and all determined to get those two letters: MD.” This photo proves that they finally did achieve this goal despite heavy opposition from the male students in their class. As mentioned previously, the women were expelled from the School of Medicine in 1883. However, they worked out an agreement with the help of male sympathizers so that the women enrolled could finish their degrees. The Kingston Women’s Medical College was founded in 1883 and ran until 1894. It was a separate college, but it was still affiliated with Queen’s University, therefore the women were able to obtain their MD.
Student Life
Women occupied a unique position in campus life. They were venturing into the public sphere, but they were still restricted to the private sphere of the campus bubble. They were active members of campus clubs and teams, however, very little of it is properly documented. Many of the resources, such as student handbooks, targeted male students exclusively. Women who did challenge men in sports were eventually forced to form their own teams in order to compete, as demonstrated by the Queen’s Women’s Hockey Team.
These are two images from 1896 and 1917 that demonstrate the evolution of the women’s hockey team. Queen’s University has a long tradition of women’s hockey. The original team known as the “Love-me-Littles” were banned from playing by the archbishop for “unladylike” behaviour on the ice. Undaunted, they continued playing and renamed themselves the “Morning Glories.” By the time 1917 photo was taken, the team had been long established. The members include Flora E. Abernethy, Nelida Vessot, Jessie McArthur, Muriel E. Whalley, Charlotte Whitton, Bessie Farrell, and Bernice Clapp. The long woollen skirts are interesting because, as one historian puts it, “if they could work in long skirts and perhaps one day vote in long skirts, then they would certainly have to play ice hockey in long skirts.” In fact, many goaltenders used this to their advantage by sewing pellets into the bottom of their skirts to keep them down at ice level so that the skirt could block the puck. This made the women’s game quite different from the men’s, yet the skirts demonstrate how they turned a hindrance into an advantage.
Queen’s University Picture Collection. “Hockey” Moring Glories Hockey Team. Queen’s University Archives. V28-HOC-1896-1.
Library and Archives Canada. Queen’s University Hockey Team 1917. Charlotte Whitton collection, PA-127274. nlc-5712, 2016.
Morning Glories Hockey Team 1896
Queen's Women's Hockey Team 1917
Students' Handbook, 1925-1926
This is a Students’ Hand Book from 1925-1926. They were distributed to each student at the beginning of the academic year. It contains important information on campus life, school songs and traditions, as well as helpful “tips” for students. This particular handbook contains the original version of the traditional “Queen’s College Colours,” now known as the “Queen’s Oil Thigh.” Notice how the lyrics refer to “boys go in and win,” which automatically excludes women from competitive varsity level sport, despite the fact that many women’s teams were active at this time. The handbook also contains pages of “tips” for “Queen’s Men.” It boldly declares: “you are at the beginning of a man’s life. Queen’s will initiate you in a man’s fashion.” This statement, and the sentences that follow, reinforce masculine ideals. Yet, most of the tips seem to be gender neutral, such as “Pay attention at lectures and take good notes.” It is curious that this section is dedicated solely to the men at Queen’s when there is no section or mention of what Queen’s women should be doing.
Student Christian Association of Queen’s University. “Queen’s 1925-26” Student handbook, Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario, The Jackson Press, 1925. Queen’s University Archives.
Residence and the Shift to Co-Ed
Creating space for women on campus was an ongoing controversial issue. Women were placed in all female residences to regulate and control their opposite sex interactions. The creation of all female residences was challenging enough in itself as it marked a permanent place for women on campus. Then, when these gender barriers began to break down during the Second Wave of Feminism, there was a shift to co-ed living. This met with mixed reactions. Some embraced the freedom to live more closely to “real world” conditions, while others raised concerns over invasions of privacy and loosening sexual morals.
Ban Righ Hall Expansion Proposal
This document is a proposal from 1949 to expand the all female residence, Ban Righ Hall. It is a brochure outlining the logistics of their proposal to expand due to the increasing demand for female accommodation. As the timeline indicates, by 1949 women were able to enroll in the School of Medicine and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, therefore it would make sense that there would be a higher female enrolment. Underneath the blueprint picture is a brief description outlining women’s relationship to the university. It declares “Queen’s never excluded though she long ignored women.” There are many cases that would prove this claim to be false, such as the women’s expulsion from the School of Medicine in 1883. It further states that the university has been “unrepentantly co-educational ever since.” It is an interesting and contradictory way to advocate for an all female residence, which is not co-ed. Reaffirming the female tradition in the university gives the proposal more legitimacy and increased its chances for approval.
Queen’s University Residences. “Women’s Residences” Ban Righ Hall expansion proposal documents. Queen’s University Archives. Box 1.
Leonard Hall Poster
This poster was found folded in a file labelled “men’s residences” the Queen’s University Archives. There is no date but it can be assumed that it is from the 1970s or 1980s as all the other content in the file is from that time period. It clearly targets women with the headline being “GIRLS” in bold black print. It also highlights how certain residences on campus were still viewed in gendered terms. For example, Leonard Hall is a masculine residence because it is where all of the Queen’s “men” reside. It can be assumed that posters such as this would have been posted in all female residences, such as Ban Righ. A dance was a way for the university to control opposite sex interaction in a respectable way. It may have been the only way for the girls to meet and interact with boys. Note how the men of Leonard Hall were the ones hosting the dance, in other words, making the women come to them in a controlled environment.
Queen’s University Residences. “Men’s Residences” Leonard Hall dance poster. Queen’s University Archives. Box 1.
Queen's Journal Article
This is a relatively recent Queen’s Journal article from 1988 that discusses the result of the student votes to make the largest residence on campus, Victoria Hall, go co-ed. Those familiar with Queen’s will be shocked that it took so long for Victoria Hall to modernize. Upon a closer reading of the article, this measure can really be seen as taking one step forward and two steps back. Victoria Hall would be converted to co-ed on the condition that Morris Hall and McNeil House would become all female residences. The article also discusses the restructuring of the student government to accommodate these changes. This transition to co-ed residences was not smooth, as demonstrated by the mixed reactions from students in the article. There is an underlying theme that all female residences are “less fun” and not a desired place to be. This is largely because there were stricter regulations placed on women in all female residences.
Queen's, University. “Students in residence to vote on new constitution: Victoria Hall to go co-ed.” Queen's Journal, January 15, 1988
"The Shadow Knows" Drawing
This is a drawing that was found buried in the Queen’s Archives in between minutes from the Office of the Dean of Women and documents surrounding the history of Co-ed Residences from 1971-1987. Although there is no date or artist labeled, it can be assumed that this drawing was a reaction to the Victoria Hall proposal to go Co-ed. The graphic nature of the drawing highlights the moral anxieties of co-ed interactions. It is important to keep in mind that these co-ed debates were largely the result of the sexual liberation that occurred during the Second Wave of Feminism.The drawing suggests that there would be an invasion of female privacy if they had to live with males. There is also an underlying suggestion that men just can’t help themselves if they are in close proximity to women.
Office of the Dean of Women. “Women’s Residence Council” Meeting minutes and co-ed proposal documents. Queen’s University, 1950-1990. Queen’s University Archives. Box 1/2. 2318.25.