stereotypical greeks

[gtdxeric]

One thing that I think is so fundamental to fraternity/sorority life that it's often overlooked by members: if you're in a fraternity, you have to enjoy, at least on some level, a lot of interaction with a lot of different men. Similarly, I have female friends who could never be in a sorority, simply because they couldn't handle that many girls in one place, and the drama would just outweigh the benefits of sisterhood to them. This manifests itself as the stereotype of the "frat guy" who is always hanging out with six to seven other guys, and the "sorority girl" who never goes anywhere without a cloud of her girls in her wake. Does this make sense?

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by gtdxeric

One thing that I think is so fundamental to fraternity/sorority life that it's often overlooked by members: if you're in a fraternity, you have to enjoy, at least on some level, a lot of interaction with a lot of different men. Similarly, I have female friends who could never be in a sorority, simply because they couldn't handle that many girls in one place, and the drama would just outweigh the benefits of sisterhood to them. This manifests itself as the stereotype of the "frat guy" who is always hanging out with six to seven other guys, and the "sorority girl" who never goes anywhere without a cloud of her girls in her wake. Does this make sense?

This is exactly what people thought about me and what I thought about myself for a long time but Sigma Gamma Rho proved me wrong. One of our stereotypes (that we encourage) is about us being so individual and encouraging individuality, and I have to say that of most of the sorors I've met, this rings true. Many of the ones I've met did not even seriously consider greek life until finding out about Sigma Gamma Rho because they thought that they wouldn't be able to be themselves. Because the Sigma women on my campus were so individual (had lots of non-greek friends and were a part of other clubs) even though they were in a sorority, I felt that I could still be myself and I didn't have to be around them 24/7. I'm naturally a loner (well, part of me is) and I have lots of guy friends, but I found that I can be around a group of girls when I want to or to achieve something. My sorors respect that sometimes I need to be a loner or to be around others and they are cool with that. They know that when I'm ready to be with the group, I'll come around and they can count on me to do whatever I signed up to do or what they need for me to do. So my personality definitely doesn't fit the stereotype and I was even one of those who once said that they would never join a sorority and complained about how women just can't get along. So go figure.

[REE1993]

Cosign. I think I was that way even in high school. We had a pack of 8 girls and a few on the fringes. It just felt natural in college to rush and pledge (and meet tons of people). Even as an adult, my friends and I would go out in packs of 5 or more. We even went to Nantucket for a bachelorette for a 4 day weekend (14 girls).

It's just the way I am. Even today I go out in groups. My husband is used to it.

Originally Posted by gtdxeric

One thing that I think is so fundamental to fraternity/sorority life that it's often overlooked by members: if you're in a fraternity, you have to enjoy, at least on some level, a lot of interaction with a lot of different men. Similarly, I have female friends who could never be in a sorority, simply because they couldn't handle that many girls in one place, and the drama would just outweigh the benefits of sisterhood to them. This manifests itself as the stereotype of the "frat guy" who is always hanging out with six to seven other guys, and the "sorority girl" who never goes anywhere without a cloud of her girls in her wake. Does this make sense?

[AlwaysSAI]

This is how I see it, but I'm not NPC, so my view may not be as valid.

Admit it, I will, that greek organizations are elitist. I don't care what kind of org, be it NPC, NPHC, MGC, music, service. Every woman or man that comes out to an event is not offered membership. That is what sets greeks apart from other clubs. We select our members--our members do not select us. That is a quality we, as greeks, value but that is what also makes us elitist.

Many woman and men come out each semester to events. Women and men that are talented, smart, leaders that would make excellent members. Many of those women and men are not offered membership because our membership selection process is superficial (save NPHC and MGC). NPC, music and probably a few other organizations bid many women and men every semester after only speaking with them a total of 90 minutes the entire week. This leads to the assumption that all ABC women are pretty, all DEF girls are smart and all XYZ girls sleep with the GHI men.

Here's what the stereotypes all boil down to. Yes, some women and men in my chapters may match those perfectly, but there is no reason that should set a precident. As I stated before, greek organizations are elitist. Only those we chose are allowed membership and that leaves many people in the dark. Many times, people are intimidated by things, in this case sororities and fraternities, unfamiliar to them and that leads to insecurity about sororities and fraternities. To make up for that insecurity they have to find something that makes them stand above those organizations. Such things as--sorority girls are dumb (when most maintian a 3.0), fraternity boys are male sluts (when many are in committed relationships), or you only get into XYZ if you have blonde hair (when half the membership is brunette).

There are stereotypes about every single greek organization, not just NPC and the like. Around the school of music, my SAI chapter is known as the stuck up girls because we present ourselves with class. And, my Phi Sig chapter is disliked on campus because of our membership requirements.

If greek organizations are really that put off by stereotypes one thing that may get that problem under control is open membership. Every man or woman that comes out to x number of events is offered a bid. But, we could all list 500 reasons why Sally PNM and Chuck PNM should not be members of our organization.

I don't want to resort to open membership to stop stereotypes. I can deal with them because I know the truth. Stereotypes are a fact of life with greek membership and that's just how the cookie crumbles.

[DaemonSeid]

what? people still stereotype? SAY IT AINT SO!


hehehehehe...as long as there is soemthing that makes group A dissimilar to group B...we all will find ways to pick it apart.

[dzcouture]

Don't get me wrong, but if recruitment is a type of "mutual selection" then that means that whichever group you pick has also picked you. That means that you have found a connection with them and most likely have many things in common. Just like you have friends for a certain reason, and it is easy to stereotype groups of friends, it is easy to stereotype entire chapters. If these are the girls I am around all the time and get along with so well, we are bound to have things in common. My sisters always borrow my clothes, and some may see us as dressing the same type of way. It just happens to be that we have a lot in common and being together so much makes us grow even closer in our interests.

I wouldn't join an organization that is nothing like me, so there has to be some common thread between all my sisters. It's what makes our sisterhood so strong. Even if it's diversity, that could be your stereotype.

I am not condoning stereotypes what-so-ever, I'm just saying that I can see how it's possible to generalize when you end up in a place you belong where most of your friends have a lot in common with you.

[exlurker]

Originally Posted by dzcouture

. . . My sisters always borrow my clothes, and some may see us as dressing the same type of way. . . .

That makes sense.