The story of women at the University of Virginia is a multi-faceted testament to American prejudices and the university’s dedication to tradition but also evolution. Women were not a part of the conventional educational scene at UVA until 1970, although historians confirm their presence on Grounds predates their enrollment. UVA professor Phyllis Leffler writes that by this time, “over 30,000 women had already made their mark on UVA–pursuing, and earning, their diploma, certificate, or degree (bachelor’s, master’s, medical, law, and doctoral)”.

Similar to most long standing public institutions, UVA places a strong emphasis on the value of tradition. So, it was quite fitting that they held a week-long event in 1921 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the birth of the school. Despite their inability to attend the school at this point, women played a large role in this celebration. A focal point of the festivities was the Centennial Pageant and a dance in which fifteen “women from the Mississippi State College for Women told of Jefferson’s trials in founding the University” (Emily Thompson, 2017). This pageant was entitled The Shadow of the Builder, and it featured dancers and actors of both genders.

I looked at “4 Photographs of 1921 University of Virginia Centennial Pageant”. This piece is a collection of four images captured during the preparation of a dance during The Shadow of the Builder. The images feature fifteen women in loose white cloth dresses portraying Grecian dancers and working on a routine in what is known today as UVA's amphitheater. Gweneth West, a drama professor at UVA and professional costume designer, notes that these costumes “were greatly influenced by Isadora Duncan [an early 20th-century American improvisational dancer]. The fabric is sheer, soft and fluid. These costumes were probably considered risqué.”

The four frames of the dance depict a wide range of styles and moods portrayed; one photo shows all women dramatically sprawled in an organized formation on the stage, whereas another shows some women lying on the ground and others with their arms out, almost like some kind of ritual. One picture includes a man walking in the frame in front of the dancers, adding some additional context about who might have been leading or assisting in these rehearsals.

Questions immediately surfaced about where these women might have been from, since their gender confirms they could not have been UVA students. Upon learning that they came from Mississippi State College for Women, I wondered why they would have been recruited to be a part of this pageant, and how the founders and planners of the celebration regarded women’s roles in higher education. Eventually I learned that the author of the pageant was a woman named Frances Gaither, and she, too, attended Mississippi State College for Women; I was fascinated that a woman was entrusted with creating this important celebration for the university given their status (or lack thereof) at UVA. I also could not find much information explaining the connection between the two universities, although the Mississippi State College for Women clearly played an integral part in this pageant.

I was able to find some supporting information from other sources; the pageant program, for example, offered insight to the individuals involved in the centennial. Seventeen women are listed by name in the program, as well as “Ladies and gentlemen of the community” who played extras in the pageant, and “Young ladies of the community,” who played maidens and temple attendants. I was initially struck by the female influence in this pageant, and then couldn’t help but wonder or assume that their presence was probably more for the spectacle and entertainment than gender representation or intellectual value. They wore “scandalous” costumes and were put on display to provide a new and interesting layer to the school. The women were probably the most photographed and attractive part of the whole centennial celebration. Their presence was undoubtedly captivating to the male students and faculty, but it was also somewhat controversial, since the timeline of the pageant coincided with much activism around women’s rights and suffrage in America; their participation in society (including celebrations at prestigious universities like UVA) was not necessarily widely accepted.

Motives aside, the incorporation of women into this event is fascinating because it calls UVA’s attachment to tradition into question and supports the idea that although the university undoubtedly treasures the past, there is also a willingness to adapt to current needs of the institution. Another UVA source of the early 20th century is the Corks & Curlsyearbook from 1921, which includes various essays from students. The yearbook also includes some cartoons about the potential integration of women into UVA, which was a seemingly radical idea at the time. One student essay reads “We are filled with the fullness of the past, a past that has builded on a firm foundation—the lives of men. The spirit of Virginia is with us, immortal Age beside Immortal Youth. Increased numbers will not make us a greater university; let us pray rather that the coming era of expansion will develop and make finer the things that have been and must always be.” This excerpt speaks to UVA’s dedication to upholding sacred histories of the state and college, including that of exclusively supporting men. This quote frames the perspective of UVA at the time: that men were the sole contributors to the university. Thus, it is exciting that they brought women into the school even before they were willing to admit them as students. It almost shows an ambivalence about the role of women at UVA. They are physically present in the pageant, but only as ornamental dancers and behind-the-scenes contributors; they are not valued for their intellect, but admired for their beauty and namelessness.

The idea of including women in the university was certainly on the table, though it was heavily debated and controversial, which is demonstrated in Corks & Curls. One cartoon depicts a man in a brown suit tipping his hat to a lady behind him wearing an orange hat and coat and blue skirt, almost anxiously waving back at him. The man stands a few paces before the woman, in front of classic UVA architecture and underneath the written word ACADEMIC. The man holds a book, possibly signifying his stance at the forefront of academia, and his friendly smile and inviting gesture suggests that the artist looks fondly upon the idea of including women at UVA. This cartoon strikes a similar chord as the pageant dance; women only exist as something for men to observe and desire. Perhaps this image suggests that enrolling women could increase marriage prospects for male students. The woman’s body language and clothing paint her as more of an object for viewing than an academic presence.

This idea is reminiscent of one raised by Derek Baron in “Opera and Land: Settler Colonialism and the Geopolitics of Music at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School”. Baron proposes the idea of interchanging marginalizing acts (about racism in their paper, sexism in mine); “This episode shows one form of racism replacing another: By displaying the prisoners as emotive, child-like, and ultimately improvable objects of white sympathy, these performances were designed to counteract the perceptions of Native peoples as barbaric and warlike, thereby securing philanthropic support for their assimilation.” Though they are describing an entirely different scenario, the essence of different levels of discrimination is clear. What we see from the pageant images and this cartoon from Corks & Curls makes the treatment of women more ambiguous. We note their physical presence at UVA more than ever before, which feels progressive in one sense, but in reality, the intentions behind their ‘inclusion’ is questionable and does not actually advance the women’s movement at all.

The pageant was ultimately a celebration of Thomas Jefferson, the school’s founder. Idolizing Jefferson, as we have seen with many prominent historical figures, is complex, as there are many elements of his life we wish to cherish and many we condemn. His stance on the education of women is no exception to this obscurity; Jefferson was known to be skeptical of broadly educating women, though he ensured his daughter (Martha Jefferson Randolph) was one of the most educated women of her time.

Ultimately, the Centennial Pageant was an unintentional milestone for women’s involvement at the University of Virginia. Although this event did not explicitly touch on feminist values or the importance of female education (as far as we know), the conversation about these topics would only become more prevalent in the following years. Whether the women were involved in the pageant for superficial or symbolic reasons, their presence alone is a marker of change and deviation from tradition, despite it being held so closely by the founders and maintainers of UVA’s legacy. Studying the photographs of female dancers at the school and putting them in conversation with other related documents (writing and illustrations from Corks & Curls, the pageant script and more) tells the story of the beginning of the explicit inclusion of women at UVA.

Works Cited:

https://uvamagazine.org/articles/reflecting_on_uva_anniversaries_past

https://brendanwolfe.com/mr-jeffersons-great-shadow

https://archive.org/details/centennialofuniv00virguoft/page/74/mode/2up?+view=theater&view=theater

https://uvamagazine.org/articles/playing_dress_up

https://canvas.its.virginia.edu/courses/139429/files/folder/Week%202%20Day%201?preview=12768609