Quote:
Originally posted by DGMarie
My appologies. I did not mean to ever imply that TBS insists that male member be called sisters. I believe I was replying to this quote:
Milkhakeax: So should I turn in my letters and forget ritual? I am just as much a lifelong Sister as anyone else, regardless of my gender.
Milhakeax was the one who called himself a sister. Whether this is nationally acclaimed policy or not, is it the practice I have seen in several TBS chapters with male members. I think such practice, whether sanctioned or not, would be a turn off to potential male members. Why not just be a brother of TBS? What is so bad about that??
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What's so bad about it is that you're critiquing someone for identifying themselves correctly. He, and the members of his chapter, have a tradition of calling men Sisters. And as you've stated, several chapters do this-- because it's TRADITION. Just like the tradition at each school that determines whether men will even be welcome to join TBS, or women KKY. What's so bad about men calling themselves Sisters, if that's what they are, and that's the bond they share? Do you feel it devalues your experience as a Sister?
The men of my chapter call themselves Sisters. They simply adopted the term, because that's what everyone else uses in our chapter. If a man came along in my chapter, and preferred to call himself a Brother, I'd respect that, but it would sound very strange to me for a while. It's the tradition-- just like yours was a single-sex only. It's an understood-- if you join TBS, you are a sister. It also helps, when not wearing letters, to identify who is in what organization. In my alma mater's band, if a woman or man says that (s)he is a Sister, everyone knows (s)he's in TBS. If (s)he says (s)he's a Brother, everyone knows (s)he's in KKY.
Like any other chapter, new members learn the traditions and embrace them. If they can't embrace them, then their pursuit of membership may be denied. I'm sure there were traditions of your chapter that were assumed traditions that everyone followed without question. It's part of membership in any GLO. For example, when I became a member of TBS, both of our chapters were single-sex, and it was understood that no woman would pursue membership in KKY, and no men in TBS. That did change, however. And now I have male Sisters.
As for deterring men from joining TBS-- if it's based solely on being called a Sister, then I'd have to question whether or not they wanted to be part of an organization that was founded, and still has a majority focus on female membership. I admire the men who do join TBS, because overall I think they have a lot more emotions to go through (internal and from external sources) than the women who join KKY.
And Milhakeax, never, ever let someone try to shame you for being a Sister... I am proud that you are part of my chapter's extended family.
LITB,
Melissa
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