Why was the name of the MHCLAN changed to Mount Holyoke Lyons Pride?
The focus of the MHCLAN was on women loving women. Bisexual and transgendered women were always welcome as members, but there had been a desire to keep the focus on the women-loving aspects of our lives. MHCLAN could not offer a forum for discussing male lovers, and did not feel that it could say it was a network that served the full scope of the needs of bisexual women. When the opportunity to affiliate with the Alumnae Association arose, to do so precluded using a name which included “Mount Holyoke College.” Rather than simply dropping the word “College” from the name without discussion, a variety of potential new names were suggested, many of which reflected the growing interest of members to make the organization more inclusive of all sexual minorities, including bisexual women, transgendered, and intersexed people. The name “Mount Holyoke Lyon’s Pride” was inspired by the name of the College’s founder, Mary Lyon.
