Senior Seeks Source of Radcliffe Myths

Judith A. Long '61, an Edmands Hall Radcliffe majoring in Soc Rel, has an idea that "something in the position of Radcliffe girls generates myths." A pilot for her thesis last spring "aimed myths about Harvard and Radcliffe, t got mostly stereotypes instead." Most of the stereotypes were of Radcliffe and some of the statements appear Miss Long's currently circulating questionnaire, "with some of the objectionable comments removed."

The questionnaire, which was distributed to 20 freshmen and 20 seniors at Radcliffe, presents stereotypical ideas 'Cliffies to agree with or revise, and paragraphs to complete. Miss Long is to determine what creates these and the individual reactions to them.

Many of the one-sentence characterizations offered for comment have aroused considerable interest. Miss Long said that they were based on a pilot study done last spring. Some of the more entrancing ones are "Radcliffe girls are pushy, and do not defer to men," "Radcliffe girls are unchaste," "Radcliffe girls are neurotic and maladjusted," and perhaps most intriguing, "Radcliffe girls sleep around, but only with Harvard men who are in Group L."

Some of the paragraphs to complete really leave the casual reader wondering. A particularly tantalizing one says, "The rash of literature chronicling Harvard-Radcliffe love affairs...covers a range from the near-epic to the super-mundane. The stories have in common with each other a variety of unhappy endings....

"The needs and affinities which have drawn together these Harvard boys and Radcliffe girls have little to do with the standard romance or the mass images of sex appeal; and so it seems with the couples we know who have formed this sort of intense relationship. In fact, the Radcliffe girls in this picture..." And there it stops.

The questionnaire, which was distributed to 20 freshmen and 20 seniors at Radcliffe, presents stereotypical ideas 'Cliffies to agree with or revise, and paragraphs to complete. Miss Long is to determine what creates these and the individual reactions to them.

Many of the one-sentence characterizations offered for comment have aroused considerable interest. Miss Long said that they were based on a pilot study done last spring. Some of the more entrancing ones are "Radcliffe girls are pushy, and do not defer to men," "Radcliffe girls are unchaste," "Radcliffe girls are neurotic and maladjusted," and perhaps most intriguing, "Radcliffe girls sleep around, but only with Harvard men who are in Group L."

Some of the paragraphs to complete really leave the casual reader wondering. A particularly tantalizing one says, "The rash of literature chronicling Harvard-Radcliffe love affairs...covers a range from the near-epic to the super-mundane. The stories have in common with each other a variety of unhappy endings....

"The needs and affinities which have drawn together these Harvard boys and Radcliffe girls have little to do with the standard romance or the mass images of sex appeal; and so it seems with the couples we know who have formed this sort of intense relationship. In fact, the Radcliffe girls in this picture..." And there it stops.

Many of the one-sentence characterizations offered for comment have aroused considerable interest. Miss Long said that they were based on a pilot study done last spring. Some of the more entrancing ones are "Radcliffe girls are pushy, and do not defer to men," "Radcliffe girls are unchaste," "Radcliffe girls are neurotic and maladjusted," and perhaps most intriguing, "Radcliffe girls sleep around, but only with Harvard men who are in Group L."

Some of the paragraphs to complete really leave the casual reader wondering. A particularly tantalizing one says, "The rash of literature chronicling Harvard-Radcliffe love affairs...covers a range from the near-epic to the super-mundane. The stories have in common with each other a variety of unhappy endings....

"The needs and affinities which have drawn together these Harvard boys and Radcliffe girls have little to do with the standard romance or the mass images of sex appeal; and so it seems with the couples we know who have formed this sort of intense relationship. In fact, the Radcliffe girls in this picture..." And there it stops.