The first sorority to demand equal rights

[breathesgelatin]

A few corrections to items on this board.

"Ms." is intended as a standard address to all women of all marital statuses (whether or not you know their marital status). Some married women feel that it reeks of feminism and do not use it or wish to be addressed as such. It has become de rigeur in the business world. I seldom see people addressing me as "Miss" so and so anymore. As an unmarried woman I'd actually prefer "Ms." Actually I'll probably prefer it as a married woman too as I don't plan on ever changing my name.

The other thing to note about the use of "Mrs." is that there's a lot of misuse of it. TECHNICALLY, according to ettiquette, you only address someone as Mrs. when you are using her last name only or her husband's name.

Example: Jane Smith marries John Doe.

You can properly address Jane as:

Mrs. Doe
Mrs. John Doe
Ms. Jane [Smith] Doe

That's the technically correct usage even though few if any people know or observe that today. Partially that's due to the general loosening in usage. As MysticCat mentioned many people pronounce it all the same today, especially in the south. I know I do.

The title of this thread confused me too.

One thing that needs to be said is that white middle-class women were very willing to throw other groups under the bus. Many of their arguments for suffrage (esp. in the late 19th-c.; things evolved somewhat by the early 20th c.) were basically, "Look at the awful people you're giving suffrage to--blacks (in the NE at least), ethnic European immigrants, drunks... Don't you want your wives to vote in order to outvote these groups and also protect virtue?"

There are a lot of great things about the suffrage movement. But there was profound conservatism, ethnocentrism, racism, etc., among the suffragettes as well.

NPC sororities were founded on some sort of gender equality idea, usually in the context of getting a voice on campus. I mean when women's colleges banned sororities in the early 20th c. it was usually around the time that they granted student government a voice. Greek orgs were seen as a way to have a voice on campus, especially in the pre-student government days. I know Pi Phi was founded in order for women to have a group similar to men's fraternities and to have their own agency and recognition on the Monmouth College campus. That's really cool. I also think it's cool Carrie Chapman Catt was a member of my organization. At the same time, I don't get off thinking that my organization was and is some of socially progressive activist group with its founding principle as achieving social justice for its members. I see the NPHC groups as having one of their primary goals, from the founding of their organization, the work toward social justice. NPCs are many things but I don't really think they're that. I'm proud of Pi Phi's literacy philanthropy and I think it can help toward social justice but I realize that Pi Phi primarily defines itself differently (as a sisterhood which encourages virtuous behavior and leadership development) than do NPHC orgs. Actually this is why I have a lot of respect and admiration for the goals of NPHC orgs, because I admire their commitment to social justice. I LOVE MY PI PHI but I'll be the first to say that social justice is not part of its definitional character.

I just don't get why NPC members are always threatened by the statements like that we were more generally conservative than NPHC orgs, or that a few or even many members participated in the suffrage movement but overall it wasn't a stated priority for our organizations, or whatever. To me this seems obvious. It's like NPC members always want credit for stuff while at the same time they were undertaking severe discriminatory practices in the time period we're discussing.