Sororities more interested in badges and Fraternities more interested in COA?

[thetygerlily]

My thoughts on the OP's question: We have a few fraternity men on this site who are very interested in heraldry. I would consider them to be heraldry buffs, or realistically heraldry gurus. They also happen to be some of the key male representation on the badge trends thread. Perhaps it's a coincidence, or perhaps those fraternity men who are most interested in history are also interested in heraldry and badges due to their historical nature. Some of the sorority women are there for history, and some just like pretty shiny (opal) things. Many fall into both categories.

Personally I love evolution- that's why I majored in anthropology. Not just biological evolution, though... I love cultural evolution. How we got from Point A to Point B. The badges are a great representation of that journey. You can examine clasps, lettering style, enameling, quality, gold color, shape, size, engraving style & content... the list goes on. THAT is what I most love about badges, the evolution through time.

One of my favorite badges is also one of my plainest, and not that old. It's a plain gold key from 1947, but it is in the most stunning & subtle shade of rose gold. I've seen some other pins from that era in a similar color. That blip in time had a different gold color, which represents the resources available then. Love it.

So yes, I think change has a lot to do with it. I wish more fraternity men were engaged in the badge trends thread because many of their fraternities are older than our sororities, and thus have that much more history to share. However, my guess is some men shy away because it's jewelry talk (my husband could care less about his badge), and there are also fewer active male posters here. There probably isn't any single right answer here.

I'm all for a COA thread though- for heraldry discussion (drool on, MC and Gusteau!) and maybe to post cool COA items. I have a few items I could share, if I can get around to posting pictures.

[wow I'm long-winded today]

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by thetygerlily

. . . perhaps those fraternity men who are most interested in history are also interested in heraldry and badges due to their historical nature.

I think this may be on, or near, target.

Maybe I'll start that CoA thread.