"Lipstick Jungle": an alternative vision of feminism

I came across this recent article in the Wall Street Journal, written by a young lady named Ashley Samelson. In it, she articulates a very insightful perspective about her experiences as a woman on the typical university campus in America today. She explains that she didn't realize just how the bankrupt modern feminism lived out can be until she compared her experiences on the campus of Tufts University to that of her sister's experience at Hillsdale College (a conservative Midwestern school in Michigan). The contrasts were striking and in restrospect, somewhat startling, for her as she reflected on the experience many young women go through in college, and what might have been.

From my perspective, as someone who has spent time at places like Wheaton and Hillsdale, as well as, Indiana University, it is not difficult to see the extension of two very different worldviews lived out. Many of these more conservative, Christian schools have an ethos that is different, even radical, in its departure from the "normal" culture incubated at public universities. There are those who may disregard, or downplay, the Christian perspective in such environments, but the results speak for themselves, as Ms. Samelson points out.

Now, that is not to say that Christians schools are inherently perfect. Having attended Taylor University, I can tell you that there existed a less-than-Christian sub-culture for those who were drawn to such an environment. But on the whole, the ethos of such schools is considerably different, and I would say, more beneficial, for those students who are genuinely seeking personal betterment.

Ms. Samelson's piece highlights an alternative vision of feminism at places like Hillsdale, Wheaton College (my wife's alma mater), and Patrick Henry College (which we've highlighted her at TDD in the past). She explains that it is in these settings that one finds a culture which cultivates the kind of genuine solidarity and mutual respect that modern feminists only talk about. For anyone who's spent any time on a typical state university, the realities of Ms. Samelson's experience are familiar. But as she concludes, there are alternatives. From my own experiences, I would concur.  

Comments

[chris corwin]

i believe we share the disdain for how modern female culture encourages young women to treat each other, but i think we may lay the blame at very different feet.

i'm not at all sure i buy into this theory that it's "the feminists" that bought it about.

i do admit fully though that small conservative christian colleges do have, by and large, a fantastic culture of women.

its healthier in a lot of ways than the rest of the world, as far as i can tell.

i have not spent enough time on this subject to have an opinion as to *why* -- but you'll not be shocked to learn that i lean more towards a cultural, rather than a spiritual, cause.