Phi Kappa Psi at U of Virginia Voluntarily Suspends Activities

[DrPhil]

No, that quote isn't saying a woman must be fake if she is acting in a way a man finds pleasing. The quote is saying there is pressure for a (heterosexual) woman to be perfect in pleasing a (heterosexual) man.

I agree with the foundation of that quote. Everyday I hear girls and women boast about being "tomboys"/"just one of the guys" and attempt to place themselves in all-male environments to prove they are "different than other women". The need to do that portrays OTHER women as overly emotional, catty, silly, gossipy, bickering, unable to have fun, uninterested in sports or other activities, and only concerned with falling in love and all that entails. I've even had women tell me they can't stand other women because of these traits they attribute to other women. I tell these women that they need to meet the women who also claim to be "different than other women". Then all these "different than other women" can fight it out for the "Different Woman Crown". Street Fighter style.

This also translates to how many of these women interact with men in romantic relationships. Always feeling the need to prove they are "different" so they won't scare a man away.

This shocks my feminist sensibilities and is the opposite end of the patriarchy and sexism scale (the opposite end is women being pressured to be "traditional prissy princess"). Just another way to encourage women to conform to the male-standard. It prevents people from just being themselves. If a woman farts, plays video games, has male friends, and loves sports it should be because that's what she wants to do. It shouldn't be because she feels the need to prove herself "cool enough" and above other women. It shouldn't mean she is void of expressing negative emotions from fear of being branded "just another emotional woman."

I think all of this factors into campus climates. That includes the fraternity that is considered awesome for getting the women. It also includes "the cool sorority" whose coolness is defined by how the fraternity men see them, sometimes sexually but mostly in terms of being fun to platonically be around. That happens in the NPHC so I don't doubt it happens in other councils and conferences.