Quote:
Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam
A drill sergeant, if you're in the military, and a football coach, if you play on a football team, are not your peers.
A fraternity brother is your peer, even if they're active and you're a pledge.
I'm not allowing someone who's less than a year older than me and in no position of true authority to get in my face.
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The bolded part highlights how these are very socially constructed categories. A drill sergeant would be a nobody if everyone treated him/her like a nobody.
Pledges are sometimes older than the ones pledging them. That means nothing. The "authority" comes in the fact that the member is where the pledge wants to be.
Whether the "big sisters" are telling that person she HAS to wear a dress to a ritual ceremony or she HAS to (insert activity that would be considered hazing), the person feels obligated for reasons beyond official titles. Deference and authority matter if the people create those power relationships.