Life at Patrick Henry College

[GenerationCedarchip]

I don't know how many here read Wartburg Watch, but this guest post from a Patrick Henry alumna went up, and I thought it was interesting enough to share.

thewartburgwatch.com/2014/04/25/is-patrick-henry-college-patriarchal/

The writer has an interesting take on the place and seems to see it as conservative and definitely complementarian, but the hardcore Quiverfullers/Patriarchy fans are in the minority there. I ran the article by a friend who graduated from there, and she said it was a good description of the place but added that the administration is more conservative than the student body. On our scale, by my friend's description, the admin is pretty fundie, the student body tends more fundie-lite and the professors themselves are all over the board from fundie to fundie lite to mainstream evangelical.

[debrand]

Dating rituals at PHC were complicated by the Purity culture and Submissive Complementarianism. Girls did not make the first move in a relationship. In fact, if a man found out a woman had an (unrequited) crush on him, he would despise her for being forward.

Wow. Provided that the person isn't stalking or harassing you, despising that person for their infatuation with you is pretty extreme.

In my day, certain student jobs only employed males. There were not corresponding jobs that only employed females. This limited a woman’s ability for employment. I’m also not entirely convinced it’s legal.

The writer says that PHC is not patriarchal but it sounds like it is. I think that it is probably not as extreme as Vision Forum but it still emphasis men in control and women as submissive.

[GenerationCedarchip]

Wow. Provided that the person isn't stalking or harassing you, despising that person for their infatuation with you is pretty extreme.

The writer says that PHC is not patriarchal but it sounds like it is. I think that it is probably not as extreme as Vision Forum but it still emphasis men in control and women as submissive.

I came across that same attitude in bold back when I was growing up in the fundie church. It was a major act of trust to confide a crush to one of your female friends because if she ratted you out to the guy, you'd not only probably not end up with him, but you might start to get a reputation for being forward or boy-crazy. Talk about weird, unhealthy dating (ahem, COURTING) atmosphere! Getting into a relationship felt like palace intrigue.

Re: PHC as patricarchal - the comments discussion on that article is really good and if you scroll down, the original author has a long comment where she contrasts patriarchy and complementarianism well. Most folks on here probably wouldn't agree with all she says, but it is a good comparison in terms of what people in fundie and fundie-lite circles that I know personally would believe.

[FundieWatcher]

I would love it if some of the fundie girls could go away to college, even PHC. The Sarah Maxwells, Bria Crawfords, and Duggars don't even get that. No matter how strict, they will at least get a glance at the real world. I mean Sarah Maxwell is 32 and can't cross the street alone. Community College, Online College or PHC is unthinkable. And the males in the ATI world don't fare much better. If PHC didn't exist, most wouldn't be allowed to get any formal higher education.

[debrand]

I would love it if some of the fundie girls could go away to college, even PHC. The Sarah Maxwells, Bria Crawfords, and Duggars don't even get that. No matter how strict, they will at least get a glance at the real world. I mean Sarah Maxwell is 32 and can't cross the street alone. Community College, Online College or PHC is unthinkable. And the males in the ATI world don't fare much better. If PHC didn't exist, most wouldn't be allowed to get any formal higher education.

PHC is better than nothing, I agree.

[uber frau]

Damn, HAC is probably better than what the Maxwells get and PCC and BJU are practically one long party.

[crassy]

The writer seems to not understand what patriarchy is.