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26th out of 94 books
—
53 voters
College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Co-eds, Then and Now
by
Lynn Peril
A geek who wears glasses? Or a sex kitten in a teddy? This is the dual vision of the college girl, the unique American archetype born when the age-old conflict over educating women was finally laid to rest. College was a place where women found self-esteem, and yet images in popular culture reflected a lingering distrust of the educated woman. Thus such lofty cultural expr...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
August 17th 2006
by W. W. Norton & Company
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I really loved this. I found it endlessly fascinating, very readable and loved the inset boxes. BT fans, it offers interesting context and anecdotes about girls at Vassar in the 1910s, and information about college attendance then in general. It was, I think, at its best when talking about the 1900-1920 years - there wasn't as much about the 19th century or mid-20th, and too much of her own experiences at the start, in the 70s. Still, it offered context for a lot of mid-century books I've read -...more
An engrossing, endlessly entertaining history of women at college in America. Peril covers all the expected big isms--sexism, classism, racism, feminism--in detail, but also explores midnight snacks, gentlemen callers, smoking and drinking, quirky campus traditions, the rise and fall of women's basketball, the "college girl" in pulp fiction and movies, and an array of other issues big and small. I loved her previous book, Pink Think, but College Girls is both more carefully researched and more c...more
This is the first nonfiction book I have picked up in a while. I originally planned on reading bits and pieces of it for the purpose of some research, but I was so fascinated with the description that I felt the need to just read it cover to cover. Frankly, I'm glad I did. Never before have I felt so proud to have a college degree. Periodically my jaw dropped with surprise at the things people actually believed 100+ years ago (women should not study during their menstrual cycle because it would...more
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I found this book at my library while searching for a sex education book (this book is not a sex education book, but it popped up in the catalog with a keyword search)for a patron and I could not resist putting it on hold for myself. It looked like something right up my alley. The book covers the evolution of college girls from those at teachers' seminaries in the West in the late 1800s to those husband hunting co-eds of the 1950s to the Girls Gone Wild hotties. It covers all aspects of a colleg...more
A fun read, with (surprise!) several references to good old Swellesley. Despite the salacious-looking cover, the author struck a great balance between funny stories and serious analysis. It was informative and pretty rigorously researched but still accessible.
After reading this book and Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking: Cookbooks and Gender in Modern America in 2012, I'm struck by how many different agendas society has managed to devise for women since the 1860s or so. College education is goo...more
After reading this book and Manly Meals and Mom's Home Cooking: Cookbooks and Gender in Modern America in 2012, I'm struck by how many different agendas society has managed to devise for women since the 1860s or so. College education is goo...more
Dec 11, 2008
Ciara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
high school girls picking colleges, women in general, teachers
lyyn peril previously wrote a book i really enjoyed, called pink think, all about the marketing of femininity. she is also the author of "thirft score" fanzine. her zine credentials are probably what compelled me to read her books, but her books are actually quite good, which is much more than i can say for most zinesters who make the jump to actually writing books. this isn't really anything like "thrift score," because it's all researched & not about buying stuff at thrift stores. it is in...more
This book was quite enjoyable - very educational and got me thinking about women and education, and my own education (what if I had gone to a women only institution?). However, Peril's writing style this time around didn't do it for me. She used pointlessly obscure vocabulary that didn't serve to further her arguments and, at times, became suddenly moralizing. I started off hanging off of her every word, but unfortunately that quickly lost steam. It would also seem that she forgot about the "and...more
I was the first of my grandmother’s 5 granddaughters to go to college and she was absolutely horrified; she emphatically believed that the morals of all college girls were highly suspect. Grandma came of age in the 1910s, and reading this book helped me understand how she came to hold these beliefs—-and never let go of them for the next eight decades!
This is a good overview of what life was like for college girls, especially at the turn of the century, and also of societal perceptions and expec...more
This is a good overview of what life was like for college girls, especially at the turn of the century, and also of societal perceptions and expec...more
I am a fan of Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons, Lynn Peril's first book and this one was equally fascinating and fun. While Pink Think focused mostly on the post WWII - 1970's ideas of what femininity meant, College Girls explores education for women going back to the late 1800's when the first women were entering higher education. Having over 100 years of history to draw from, the arguments for and against and surrounding the education of women are fascinating. Additionally,...more
As with her previous book, Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons, Peril evidences both in-depth scholarship with a wide variety of primary sources and an approachable writing style. She covers the evolution of the identity/concept of the college girl from the 1860s or so up through the late 1960s/early 1970s. Though much has changed for women attending college over the years, it is stunning how much has not changed. It was an interesting read for someone who attended a women's col...more
I picked up this book while stuck in the last chapters of The Tin Drum for a light read. I go to a school that is on the coordiante system (I technically go to an all girls school, but we share just about everything with an all boys school, minus the deans and the sports teams), so knowing the history of women's struggles through education means a lot to me.
Favorite Quote:
Over the years, "undemocratic" was perhaps the most frequent chare lobbed against Greek-letter organizations...
"Of course t...more
Favorite Quote:
Over the years, "undemocratic" was perhaps the most frequent chare lobbed against Greek-letter organizations...
"Of course t...more
A geek who wears glasses? Or a sex kitten in a teddy? This is the dual vision of the college girl, the unique American archetype born when the age-old conflict over educating women was finally laid to rest. College was a place where women found self-esteem, and yet images in popular culture reflected a lingering distrust of the educated woman. Thus such lofty cultural expressions as Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) and a raft of naughty pictorials in men’s magazines.
As in Pink Think, Lynn Peril...more
As in Pink Think, Lynn Peril...more
Great for any lady, young or old, with an inclination towards education, history, or the simple appreciation of steps taken towards sexual equality. Peril's writing is spot on delightful and digestible. She does shy away from the slew of grim aspects, ideas, and direct quotations surrounding the struggle for women's higher education. Peril also takes care to note the classist nature of women's education and employment, soothing those who are sociologically minded or easily rankled.
If you like the history of women in college and finding out new information about what you originally thought. This is definitely a book you want to read. It doesn't read like a history book, it is easy to read and never boring. Informative, but in a fun way. I truly enjoyed reading this book.
Plenty of amusing stories Old Girls will enjoy, and others may too, even if they have never rolled a hoop. Peril tries to put some structure to her research, and brings a lot of primary sources into the light.
It comes to an abrupt ending without drawing any conclusions. Perhaps if you read it slowly over a long period of time that will not feel so jarring. Keep it on the sunporch and pick it up when you are out there smoking.
It comes to an abrupt ending without drawing any conclusions. Perhaps if you read it slowly over a long period of time that will not feel so jarring. Keep it on the sunporch and pick it up when you are out there smoking.
The amazing Lynn Peril has done it again. Much like "Pink Think," her "College Girls" takes us on an illuminating journey of the history of women. This time, rather than focusing on femininity as a while, she focuses on women in college in the US. Her use of period advertisements and photos only adds to the fun. Peril makes learning about changing trends and rules in the education of women both hilarious and informative. This book delivers.
Not too text-booky, but not terribly dumbed down either. This book covers and discusses basic life as a college girl at the turn of the 20th century. Not only was it interesting, but it was fascinating to read about what it was like for women like my grandmother and mother to go to college. Definitely a good book for someone starting out on Women and Gender studies.
Interesting book. Written a bit more for entertainment than as a source of immense knowledge, the author doesn't dwelve as deeply into certain aspects of the topic but overall an enjoyable book.
Really interesting book when I read it years ago. I'll probably re-read it. It was interesting to see how things changed.
Love this look at the history of American women on campus. Lots of great excerpts of books and ads of the eras discussed.
Awesome, quick history of women in college. I skimmed a few chapters, but other chapters I read all the way through. Includes pictures of college co-eds of yesteryears, learning all the things men thought women should know.
Didn't even make it to the end. I remember being interested by the back cover and first page, but lost interest fast.
Very enjoyable, original history of society's perception and portrayal of the college girl. I had fun reading it. I never knew the college girl really had a history to be learned of. I think this book would serve as a good addition to a syllabus for a women's studies class.
This was very enjoyable. I know understand why men find large breasted women to be dumb. The author did a good job of portraying the college girl in every decade.
A really fun book.
(On hold while my copy travels to Australia with Becca.)
Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2006
A buoyant read – Peril discusses some interesting facets of women in higher education: from the introduction of women’s colleges to histories of women’s behaviors and habits in co-ed settings. Geared toward the general reader (i.e. it's not a dense historical text), she includes many amusing details of college curricula designed for women (laundry courses!), sexual mores, regulations for women in college, social anxieties about gender, and so forth.
Very interesting read. Nothing overly surprising, but very interesting read.
May 22, 2007
Jessica
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
feisty feminist girls
Shelves:
nonfiction
Although it was an interesting read, College Girls didn't hold my attention the way Lynn Peril's first book Pink Think did. I had to keep forcing myself to read it, though in the end I'm glad I made the effort because the crap that early college girls had to go through in order to get an education was insane. Makes me appreciate my diploma a tiny bit more.
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Lynn Peril was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1985. She writes, edits and publishes Mystery Date: One Gal's Guide to Good Stuff, a zine devoted to her obsession with used books (particularly old sex and dating manuals, etiquette and self-help books and health, beauty and fashion guides) and other detritus of popular culture, especially that concerni...more
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