Quote:
Originally Posted by CuriousQueer
Hey there! As I said in the title, I'm not a member of any Greek organization--much less a social one. Sorry, in advance, for the long post.
I suppose I should introduce myself. 
I'm a 20-year-old butch woman, living/going to school in Florida. When I first started college, I didn't have the slightest interest in greek orgs... but recently that's begun to change. The idea of a "sisterhood" is very appealing to me, at this point in my life.
I'm curious about two things:
(1) Are there any sororities that would welcome me despite my gender nonconformity? I'm under the impression that most greek letter orgs have dress codes for their members, for certain events. Has anyone heard of a sorority that would allow a member to wear suits and ties? I've been reluctant to ask acquaintances that are in sororities, because they generally seem so involved in their femininity. So involved, that they overlook the possibility that butch might be interested. If I ever bring up the greek orgs in conversation, men and women alike assume that my masculinity means I have no interest in greek life.  (Or maybe I'm reading them wrong. Hopefully I'm reading them wrong.)
(2) Even if I let my gender questions slip to the back of my mind... isn't 20 too old for this?
*sigh* After this post, I should be able to take a look around the rest of forum; hopefully I'll find some of the answers I seek. BUT, if someone would help me out by answering in this thread, I would greatly appreciate it. 
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It depends on the specific chapters on your specific campus.
I don't know that there are any NPC groups that have skirts/dresses written into stone for anything (though I can't speak to others' rituals), but some chapters may be open to something different, and others may not be. For example, if everyone in the chapter wears black dresses during the last stage of recruitment (pref), and you wish to wear a menswear-style suit, that will send a message to PNM's. One chapter may embrace that message as a way to show how diverse and welcoming they are, while another may worry that it will make them look "weird" to the PNM's.
On the other hand, you have a choice on how flexible to be as well. Are you willing to put on a black dress one day out of the year? What about something like a dressy women's pantsuit? While I wouldn't tell you to compromise your own identity, in many chapters, tomboy types do things for recruitment they wouldn't normally want to do (and if I'm reading your post right, you are butch, but still identify as female).
The age thing also depends on the school, but at many schools, upperclassmen can have a successful rush if they are willing to consider all chapters.
You say you are in Florida, and there are people who can give more info on which schools are more traditional and which may be more open-minded about new members.
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