Single sex halls of residence at unis...with safe spaces in the agenda is this a solution?

[mids2019]

Years of mixing genders at colleges and halls at universities as society progresses....

However seeing some protests at universities recently are single sex halls going to become more popular?

I was in a single sex hall and loved it but it was very different to now - just one shower between 12 of us and no lockable door, just a shower curtain. I don't think that would be acceptable now.

Do people think they are but anachronistic now (single sex halls) or a needed.mix in the university sector.......

I always thought it was strange that pupils from mixed schools had to adapt to single sex but reading some threads around here it seems like single sex might be more comfortable?

@Gerla

Did you specifically choose single sex? I agonisingly sex should remain an option on campus....

I think single sex halls will be a minority interest, I think most people come to university hoping to make friends and have sex, often with people of the opposite sex...

The few people I knew in single sex accom (90s) didn’t like it because everyone went out all the time.

I was in mixed accommodation (at uni not that long ago) but had the option to express preference for a single sex flat within the building.

I ended up in a studio but then moved straight into a mixed house share. I personally didn’t mind sharing, it was actually easier for me to share with boys.

I think the option should be there for everyone. There were a couple of boys-only flats at my halls, mostly quiet, shy lads who preferred to share amongst themselves. Mixed sex were occupied by all the party-obsessed ones

Reading that back it doesn’t make much sense, does it.

I meant to say it wasn’t an issue for me sharing with either sex, I actually preferred sharing with boys.

I mentioned boys-only flats as they’re definitely not the norm I think - especially not by expressing that preference. Girls-only are much more common and both should be an option available to students so they can choose a safer space for themselves, should they want to.

I liked the set-up in my hall. It was mixed but we had self contained mini blocks of 12 that were single sex. We had shared shower facilities and I wouldn’t have been comfortable with the set-up we had if the blocks had been mixed. Obviously there were visitors but I never remember any men in the bathrooms so everyone must have been quite considerate.

I can't see it, really. There was one single sex college left at the university I went to. It was seen as a bit of a joke and wasn't a popular choice to apply to. This woukd have been (rightly) seen as unacceptable homophobic nowadays but one year their fresher t-shirts apparently read 'no we didn't and no we're not' (as in didn't apply there and aren't gay in case that wasn't ovvious).

It went co ed shortly after I graduated. Can't imagine there'd be any appetite for it to go back.

I think women a bit older than student age would value single sex spaces. But not 18-21 year olds.

We had single sex blocks within mixed sex halls, it worked really well. Then again, it was in the days of 1 shower between 4 or 5

Depends on the facilities. DSD was in a mixed flat for first year but they each had their own lockable room with a toilet and shower, the only 'shared' bit was the hallway and kitchen. I think it's important that people can nominate to be in single sex, but I think DSD's style of room is now often available on a corridor, which means there isn't any 'shared' element at all apart from the kitchen.

I know it sounds a bit of a step backwards and strange in this day and age but given some of the feeling given by some some student about safe spaces and even some of the threads about schools do we have sympathy for single sex a ccomodatjon?

I f we con aided those of a religious background or indeed those of single sex schooling does this add to the weight of argument. I am split personally. It would appear natural for my daughter to enter more accommodation if (and whe n) they get to uni but I don't know.......maybe single sex is a little more comfortable? .I think given girls wish to make friends quickly in the first ye a r.quickly.single sex increase s opportunity of this?

I didn't choose a single sex option exactly, but due to the way things were administered back Iin the day, that was where there was a space, take it or leave it, no other way. I was annoyed because having been at an all girls school I felt i had had enough of the single sex environment .

Actually though i grew to really like it. Yes pretty much all social life was out and about elsewhere. However that was a major advantage at times. Friends elsewhere had issues with loud antisocial behaviour just when they were dealing with an essay crisis or exam revision and that was a lot rarer for us. The atmosphere felt a lot more civilised and grownup than the places dominated by a more "laddish" culture where they were mixed sex.

There were also quite a few women there from very traditional religious backgrounds who were only being supported by their families in attending university at all because they were able to live in a single sex environment. Whilst I strongly disagree with the framing mindset of families controlling their daughters in this way, the reality is that such cultural traditions are not going to simply disappear and until they do I think it's very important for single sex options to exist, alongside other options for those who prefer mixed-sex.

I was in the 'womans block' in my first year... There was always men around anyway.

You would never be able to set up anything single sex on a university campus now. We used to have single sex accommodation on ours, which was mainly used by female students from conservative religious backgrounds, whose parents most likely wouldn’t have allowed them to live away from home otherwise. Then the students Union demanded it be made single gender with students allowed to self-declare their gender. So, effectively mixed sex. The university caved in and no one wanted to use that accommodation any more, so it just became normal accommodation.

Is this about friendship groups though? I tend to remember the women and men formed separate groups to some extent anyway (obviously with some overlap) and when it came to house shares these often became single sex.

Of course men are going to meet women but this can happen in many social settings not halls exclusively. I think in those first few weeks of university where your making friendships it may be good to know that those your forming bonds with are looking for friendship and not necessarily anything else.

I know of a few drunken outings of hall mates where those of the opposite sex maybe made regretful 'relations'

You would never be able to set up anything single sex on a university campus now.
Agree, it would be single-gender accommodation now, with the residents self-identifying.

Is this about friendship groups though? I tend to remember the women and men formed separate groups to some extent anyway (obviously with some overlap) and when it came to house shares these often became single sex.

Not my experience actually. Most house shares on my course were mixed sex. Small uni and we all kind of knew each other. I remember 5 guys on my course, out of 150, who lived together. They were also the ones to be mindful of during nights out, according to my friends. Some of my best friends from uni are male, I’ve never thought twice about that. I think the option should be there but it won’t attract many.

I agree with pp. You could maybe call it single sex, but it would still have to house men who said they were women, and if you disagreed you'd be called transphobic and thrown off your course. If they were starting from scratch with accommodation they'd just call it single gender. Either way women would not be entitled to a safe space.

I was in mixed halls. Twelve to a corridor with own lockable rooms and en-suite facilities with a shared communal area. I actually felt safer with the boys around. They were lovely young men who looked out for us (safely ejecting my friends very drunk ex who came banging on her door one night, for example).

I think it very much depends on the set up of the accommodation though, especially bathroom arrangements. Let’s be honest though. The world is co-Ed. Girls will be working with men. There’s no single sex job market. I’m a big fan of single sex schools for girls from 11 to 16 but also very mindful that as they get older it’s terribly important to mix. I’d worry a lot about a girl who had been in a very single sex environment from the age of four until she graduated.

Did you specifically choose single sex?

Yes, because when I went to go and see it I liked the atmosphere although I guess it wasn't strictly single sex - the sleeping areas were single sex mainly because of the communal bathrooms which were not locked at all so probably wouldn't be allowed now. The women's hall was next to the men's hall and all the other areas were mixed so it wasn't like we never saw them!

I wonder how many women (from religious backgrounds I presume but maybe not only) have chosen not to go to university because of a lack of single sex facilities? I wonder if it's possible to research.

@Gerla

I wonder how many women (from religious backgrounds I presume but maybe not only) have chosen not to go to university because of a lack of single sex facilities? I wonder if it's possible to research.

They tend to go to local universities so they can remain at home rather than not going at all.

At my uni the single sex halls were under subscribed - some wanted to be in them by choice but most not, and were put in there not by choice. So they changed them early 2000s I think.
To be honest it didn’t make that much difference - the girls on my corridor had male friends round all the time and once one of them looked over the partition while I was in the bath (no ensuites)
And one of their friends said as he walked past me “who’s that fat girl?”
Of course I didn’t say anything but I thought fuck off I live here!

I think it would’ve been better to be on a mixed corridor and make friends with the males rather than having visitors all the time.

I was allocated a single sex college and found it the best of both worlds - I got out and about partying but there was a real sense of calm and refuge once I got back behind the doors at night - obviously there were large numbers of male overnight visitors but they knew their place.

It sounds like mostly positive experiences. I guess for every single sex female place you need a male one - and does this lead to 'frat 'boy groups?

The point about some women not taking university places due to lack of single sex halls is a bit of a concern.