Quote:
Originally posted by sugar and spice
There is a reason that almost no campuses have a "fat fraternity" but almost every campus has a "fat sorority."
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And, in my opinion, that reason is not the Greek System, but the values of beauty placed on women in society. We had a semester in Phi Psi, at FSU, where the phrase "you're fat" became similar to "aloha." It was used as a toungue-in-cheek greeting and farewell. This would never happen in a women's organization. Men who gain weight are not devalued in the same way that women are. There are weight issues with men in fraternities, but it is simply a health issue and not an identity issue.
Also, the point about sororities needing fraternities for social activities, to the extent experienced by today's undergraduates, is less than a 20 year old development. "Risk management" did not exist in the Greek world in 1980. Sororities, to the best of my knowledge, have not increased the premium on looks as their dependence on fraternities as social outlets has increased. Consider that women are more likely to dress well for other women than for men. This is a reality in society. I believe that sororities simply reflect society in this aspect of the sorority recruitment value system.