D9 stereotyping..

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

Let me make a correction here because I don't want anyone taking this the wrong way. I made this statement given the history, heritage, and legacy of NPHC greeks and the reason our orgs were created in the first place. Of course sisterhood and brotherhood are purposes serious enough to build a great organization.

Also take into consideration that sororities were often founded also as a support system for women in universities that were almost entirely male. It's great that now women aren't the minority in university anymore and so our focus has broadened.

(I know the previous comment wasn't meant as a slam, but it did come off as one)

[Animate]

I can't count the number of times people have told me I look like a Kappa. Like only Kappas can be fresh than a mug. Funny though, once people have gotten to know me then they gave me Alpha stereotype.

I can be fresher than any Kappa I'll ever come across.

[IncontRHOllable]

Originally Posted by Animate

I can't count the number of times people have told me I look like a Kappa. Like only Kappas can be fresh than a mug. Funny though, once people have gotten to know me then they gave me Alpha stereotype.

I can be fresher than any Kappa I'll ever come across.

Alpha stereotype about looks? What the heck does an Alpha supposed to look like? Not that it matters, I'm just curious.

[Animate]

Originally Posted by IncontRHOllable

Alpha stereotype about looks? What the heck does an Alpha supposed to look like? Not that it matters, I'm just curious.

There are none that I know of. I guess we are "special" as to not have one.

[Senusret I]

Depending on where you are, old school Alphas are "supposed" to be fair skinned.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Depending on where you are, old school Alphas are "supposed" to be fair skinned.

I never heard the light skinned stereotype, but to be honest I always heard the Gay stereotype, even back when I was in college. But considering how many Alphas I knew who weren't Gay it always confused me.

[Wolfman]

The issue of stereotyping among BGLOs is a positive and negative phenomenon.It can lend to a sense of group cohesion. It also appears to be grounded in reality,to an extent. A few years back an elderly brother (who's now deceased) in the grad chapter I was in used to enjoy telling stories about his experience in the Fraternity. He related that,when he pledged in the Midwest,the Alphas were shameless elitist,the Nupes were "all alcoholics" and the Ques were known as the "Do gooders" since they involved themselves in much community service work, which drew him to Omega. I didn't think much of that Kappa stereotype until I read the book "Black Haze" by Dr. Ricky Jones, a Kappa, who confirmed that before the "Pretty Boy"/"Playboy" image and stereotype took over in KAPsi in the '60s and '70s, Kappas were known as heavy social drinkers.

These things are somewhat fluid. Of late the "gay" stereotype has been gaining traction in KAPsi. In the summer of '80 after I crossed, a neighborhood friend who pledged APhiA Spr. '80 at Hampton had a discusion with me about the "gay" issue in his fraternity and how he would deal with a brother who was gay/effeminate.

To a certain degree, a self-selection process in accordance with some of these stereotypes keeps these things in place, even though there is diversity in all our groups. It's somewhat like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A funny anecdote. When I was a teaching fellow in graduate school in biblical languages, I had a 1.5 generation Korean American couple in one of my classes.The wife's best friend was an AKA, so she knew about these BGLO stereotypes. She was very surprised to find out that her nerdy teacher was a "bulldog," the term she used in class when she found out I was a Que. Later, the husband told me of a conversation he and his wife had at home. He told me in private that she said that even though I was a Que, I acted like an Alpha.I got a good laugh out of that.

[IncontRHOllable]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

I never heard the light skinned stereotype, but to be honest I always heard the Gay stereotype, even back when I was in college. But considering how many Alphas I knew who weren't Gay it always confused me.

Gay stereotype about Alphas? Now I have heard that about Kappas.