Too fat to recruit: or, DePauw, the Sequel

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

[quote=SkiingSister;1476687]WE LIVE IN AN OVERWEIGHT SOCIETY[quote]

Touché.

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Secondly, the target demographic for the majority of undergraduate sororities are 17-22 year old women from middle class-upper middle class households. Go out and talk to a teenage girl for a few hours. It will be a conversation punctuated with "likes," "ums," rampant text messaging, a discussion about the mall, cute boys in her class, the popular girls, "Do I look fat in this?", her friends, her fears, and more "likes," "ums" and rampant text messaging.

Her peers influence her music tastes, clothing preferences, how she styles her hair and her overall body image. Teenaged girls are obsessed with body image. They tune out their parents, teachers and other adults who tell them to be themselves and to judge people for being "beautiful on the inside."

Have you ever tried to reason with an 18-year old? Have you been successful un-brainwashing her from the stereotypes she sees in people like Paris Hilton, Britney, Lindsay? Teens emulate what's popular and shun what's not.

I agree recruitment should be about picking the people who are "beautiful" inside, and the women's parents, sorority national leaders, etc., should guide them to making good decisions. And they do the best they can. But at the end of the day, we're still dealing with teen aged girls.

SEC recruitment is superficial. It's competitive. The SEC is ok with that. I'm ok with that. Got it? Can we please move on from this topic? I feel like we're all talking in circles.

I guess I was never really a teenaged girl because I sure as hell didn't fit what you described. Self centered, yeah. Obnoxious sometimes, yeah. Pretending my life is Mean Girls? Hell no.

I don't understand why anyone is ok with the way things are. I will never understand why no one will raise a finger and change it. As much as I've whined about Pledged...this is making me start to see the light.

Originally Posted by kathykd2005

Kappa Delta joined the Real Beauty Campaign with Dove. Maybe that is why I am taking the angle I am taking with reference to this situation; however, whatever it is, I still think singling your sisters out for being "fat" is cruel and callous. And I hope this thread doesn't die--it is pretty obvious from the amount of replies that this is a real issue in the Greek "world" and in our society at large. It's good that we are having a dialogue about it.

Thank goodness for you.

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

And about the Real Beauty campaign, it's kind of amusing to see them present women who wouldn't even seem overweight (or maybe even imperfect) if they were wearing clothes as representations of how much they value different standards of beauty.

At least there is someone out there attempting to make a change. I don't see the need to downplay someone trying to help society PROGRESS socially.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl

At least there is someone out there attempting to make a change. I don't see the need to downplay someone trying to help society PROGRESS socially.

We see it differently because what seems to you to be an effort to help society progress to me seems a rather cynical advertising campaign that falls wildly short of the goal.

If I wanted to promote the idea of differing standards of beauty, I'd use women who perhaps weren't so obviously so close to what society is presently looking for. Even in the video where they transform the model, the model at the beginning is still someone we would regard as attractive in real life, particularly after make-up is applied.

It seems to me to be a move by a cosmetics company that generally offer products that prey on women's insecurities to capitalize on a popular idea without actually having to implement the standard much.

"You're fine just the way you are; here, buy our cellulite lotion" isn't that progressive, it seems to me.

[kathykd2005]

Do these women seem overweight to you? Sure, some of them might. Does that make them less appealing? Imagine for a moment: you are one of these women, and your "friends" tell you to stay away from your sorority house during recruitment. I don't see anything amusing about the Dove Real Beauty Campaign, at all.

[fantASTic]

NONE of those women are overweight, according to that picture.

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

We see it differently because what seems to you to be an effort to help society progress to me seems a rather cynical advertising campaign that falls wildly short of the goal.

If I wanted to promote the idea of differing standards of beauty, I'd use women who perhaps weren't so obviously so close to what society is presently looking for. Even in the video where they transform the model, the model at the beginning is still someone we would regard as attractive in real life, particularly after make-up is applied.

It seems to me to be a move by a cosmetics company that generally offer products that prey on women's insecurities to capitalize on a popular idea without actually having to implement the standard much.

"You're fine just the way you are; here, buy our cellulite lotion" isn't that progressive, it seems to me.

You cannot just expect to change social interactions and interpretations in a matter of months or a couple of years. They have made a step in the right direction. They are also a for profit company. If they had put EXTREMELY non traditionally beautiful women on the campaign, they would not sell their products. However I still do not believe in downgrading a step in the right direction. As is obvious from this thread, most people are loathe to take the first step. And whatever the motives might have been for this campaign, it is successful. They have broken the mold, making it easier for others to follow. Progress is not always immediate or radical. It can take time.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by kathykd2005

Do these women seem overweight to you? Sure, some of them might. Does that make them less appealing? Imagine for a moment: you are one of these women, and your "friends" tell you to stay away from your sorority house during recruitment. I don't see anything amusing about the Dove Real Beauty Campaign, at all.

It's because so few of us do think any of those women are anything other than completely attractive that makes the campaign amusing to me.

They are obviously beautiful. So Real Beauty is obvious beauty.

I didn't want to belabor this point this much really. It was just an off the cuff remark about advertising.

[fantASTic]

Originally Posted by modorney

A lot of the fraternities have developed fitness as part of their overall pledge (and brother) education. When I rushed, there were some houses who were considered "athletic houses", but most houses weren't. Nowadays, a weight room with exercise machines is almost a must, and having every brother jog, or work out somehow, is a goal.

Unfortunately, today that is considered hazing and is strictly prohibited.

[kathykd2005]

Originally Posted by fantASTic

Unfortunately, today that is considered hazing and is strictly prohibited.

That is not hazing if sisters decide TOGETHER to work out, and do it for their well-being. It's when a woman tells another woman in her sorority that she is too fat to recruit and to stay away from the house during recruitment, or to stay away from a mixer, or to not go to formal, that would be a serious issue. My sisters and I went on numerous occasions to the gym. What we didn't do, however, was tell other sisters not to come to recruitment because they had packed on a few pounds. That is what we were talking about here.

[kathykd2005]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

It's because so few of us do think any of those women are anything other than completely attractive that makes the campaign amusing to me.

They are obviously beautiful. So Real Beauty is obvious beauty.

I didn't want to belabor this point this much really. It was just an off the cuff remark about advertising.

Obviously beautiful? Do these women look like the ones you usually see in advertisements? They don't look like the ones I normally see in magazines or on television every night. The point is that they ARE still beautiful, regardless of what popular culture says.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by fantASTic

NONE of those women are overweight, according to that picture.

Medically, I think one or two of them might qualify...but medically, you can only be 110 and 5'2'' and +10 lbs for ever inch to not be "overweight".

Originally Posted by fantASTic

Unfortunately, today that is considered hazing and is strictly prohibited.

Unfortunately? Seriously???

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Originally Posted by kathykd2005

Obviously beautiful? Do these women look like the ones you usually see in advertisements? They don't look like the ones I normally see in magazines or on television every night. The point is that they ARE still beautiful, regardless of what popular culture says.

I don't get the funnies either.

And no, they don't look like the girls I see when I open my Cosmo. Not at all.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by kathykd2005

Obviously beautiful? Do these women look like the ones you usually see in advertisements? They don't look like the ones I normally see in magazines or on television every night. The point is that they ARE still beautiful, regardless of what popular culture says.

The ones I usually see in advertisements look like 13 year old Latvian orphans who haven't eaten in a month. They're pretty gross looking, if you ask me.

[kathykd2005]

Originally Posted by 33girl

The ones I usually see in advertisements look like 13 year old Latvian orphans who haven't eaten in a month. They're pretty gross looking, if you ask me.

They sure are, and so would a house full of super model-esque women, who all looked the same during recruitment. That is just too Stepford Wives for me. But hey, that's just me.

[ForeverRoses]

Originally Posted by fantASTic

Unfortunately, today that is considered hazing and is strictly prohibited.

My University had a campus wide wellness program where individuals and organizations (usually all of the greek ones) would compete for awards. You would earn points for doing things like donating blood, going to certain speakers, going to church/synagoge/temple, and for working out at the student health center. We had chapter-wide points goals that we had to meet every quarter-so in a way we did require members to work out in some way- even if it was just going bowling or ice skating.

[kathykd2005]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

My University had a campus wide wellness program where individuals and organizations (usually all of the greek ones) would compete for awards. You would earn points for doing things like donating blood, going to certain speakers, going to church/synagoge/temple, and for working out at the student health center. We had chapter-wide points goals that we had to meet every quarter-so in a way we did require members to work out in some way- even if it was just going bowling or ice skating.

That's a really good idea.