Oral history interview with Anne Floyd

Abstract provided by interviewer Jenna Leigh Bonner. Anne Floyd attended Abilene Christian College in Abilene, Texas from 1968-1972 and received a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education in history from the university. One of the few, well- known Church of Christ affiliated universities, ACC, currently known as ACU, presents its mission today to be: “To educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.” Ms. Floyd describes here experience at ACC, specifically over the ways in which sexuality was dealt with – or, rather, not dealt with – and how gender was constructed. Much of this focuses on the expectations that were laid upon her as a student and, by extrapolation, the student body as a whole. She explores where these expectations came from and how they were upheld and enforced at ACC by direct and, largely, indirect means. This includes discussion on dress code, class makeup, and dating. Dating, she felt, was one of the largest ways in which an “Ideal ACC Woman” was defined, an area she recalls failing at to the detriment of her self- esteem. Though now identifying as lesbian and in a loving relationship with her wife, Ms. Floyd was not aware of her “authentic self” while at ACC, and issues of sexuality were never discussed on campus. Such social and political conversations and upheavals felt far removed from campus and Abilene as a whole, due – perhaps – to both the lack of information and lack of concern from the majority of the student body at ACC. This concept of a “cocoon” surrounding the campus body holds true throughout her accounts, with few exceptions. This interview provides intriguing, human, and – often – genuinely humorous looks into life at ACC, while also existing as a valuable primary source into the ways in which gender and sexuality were constructed and assumed at ACC, stemming from its interpretation of Christianity and the expectations which were created and applied to those who gathered there to learn