"Sisterhood Is Powerful" by Prudence Mackintosh (Texas Monthly, Sept. 1976)

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by Just interested

I love Prudence McIntosh. She wrote "The Southern Belle Primer, or Why Princess Margaret will never be a Kappa Kappa Gamma" Such a funny, witty, book about Southern women. She even goes into how Southern women talk about each other. Precious and darling being best and sweet at the bottom of the barrel. I have heard her speak several times. She is hysterical.

I remember this article very well. It did cause a big rumble around here and still felt somewhat today, although I don't think as much anymore.

Actually, I believe Marilyn Schwartz wrote that book: http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Belle.../dp/0385416679

Prudence wrote "Just As We Were A Narrow Slice of Texas Womanhood" which is a collection of these essays...the UT sorority one, the camp one I mentioned, etc...

http://www.amazon.com/Just-As-We-Wer...6138391&sr=1-1

Both hilarious reads!

[Ladybugmom]

Originally Posted by shirley1929

Actually, I believe Marilyn Schwartz wrote that book: http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Belle.../dp/0385416679

Prudence wrote "Just As We Were A Narrow Slice of Texas Womanhood" which is a collection of these essays...the UT sorority one, the camp one I mentioned, etc...

http://www.amazon.com/Just-As-We-Wer...6138391&sr=1-1

Both hilarious reads!

Just ordered both! I love Southern literature!

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

Just ordered both! I love Southern literature!

While "The Southern Belle Primer" is a fun and quick read, I'd consider William Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Southern literature. "The Southern Belle Primer" is as much Southern literature as "The Preppy Handbook" was for New England lit.

[Ladybugmom]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

While "The Southern Belle Primer" is a fun and quick read, I'd consider William Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Southern literature. "The Southern Belle Primer" is as much Southern literature as "The Preppy Handbook" was for New England lit.

I guess "literature" is the wrong word..however, I trust that you knew what I meant.... I appreciate the links Shirley!!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

Just ordered both! I love Southern literature!

If you love Southern literature - and yes, I know what you mean - I recommend three of her other books. “Thundering Sneakers”, “Retreads” and “Sneaking Out”. All are quite funny.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by TSteven

If you love Southern literature - and yes, I know what you mean - I recommend three of her other books. “Thundering Sneakers”, “Retards” and “Sneaking Out”. All are quite funny.

It's not Retards! It's Retreads!

And I'm getting her trilogy for Zeta Daughter's MIL, who has 5 sons. It's incredibly funny!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by carnation

It's not Retards! It's Retreads!

And I'm getting her trilogy for Zeta Daughter's MIL, who has 5 sons. It's incredibly funny!

My apologies.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

Just ordered both! I love Southern literature!

Enjoy!

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

While "The Southern Belle Primer" is a fun and quick read, I'd consider William Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Southern literature. "The Southern Belle Primer" is as much Southern literature as "The Preppy Handbook" was for New England lit.

Yep...definitely not "literature"!

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

I guess "literature" is the wrong word..however, I trust that you knew what I meant.... I appreciate the links Shirley!!

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by Eightisgreat

I for one, wish someone would actually revisit this article for Texas Monthy on the notion of how things change, but somethings stay the same. The classic "Big 6" may still be a force at UT, but the descriptions have certainly changed and from my observations, some houses love talking the big 6 talk, but don't really represent the image presented back when the article was written. (Although the High Schools and Camps may be important...the type of girl they are cranking out is very different...therefore making the chapters very different) Many people on GC say the Big 6 will always have influence on rush at UT but the fact remains if someone would actually write an article on how the houses really are today, maybe, just maybe UT rush could become a better experience because girls aren't made to believe what is not true. And then we can spend the next 30 years talking about that article.

If you've read Texas Monthly in the last 15-20 years, you'll understand that they wouldn't touch these with a 10 foot pole anymore. While I love Prudence's writing, TM wouldn't dare publish such a puff piece these days. The article that I started to link (an expose' into the fraternities and their hazing and image problems) is the sort of thing they'd be after. Not to say that Texas Monthly is all negative (I'm a 20 year subscriber) but they'd be looking for the story within the story these days.

[sigmadiva]

/slightly off topic/

Originally Posted by shirley1929

If you've read Texas Monthly in the last 15-20 years, you'll understand that they wouldn't touch these with a 10 foot pole anymore. While I love Prudence's writing, TM wouldn't dare publish such a puff piece these days. The article that I started to link (an expose' into the fraternities and their hazing and image problems) is the sort of thing they'd be after. Not to say that Texas Monthly is all negative (I'm a 20 year subscriber) but they'd be looking for the story within the story these days.

I used to buy TM because I really did enjoy the articles - they were fairly balanced and well written.

I've stopped buying TM because over the last few years the mag has turned to having more ads and fewer articles. I mean, for a while it seemed they were doing a Texas Super Lawyers spread every month!

So now I don't buy it unless there is an article I really want to read.

/back to topic


I enjoyed the Mackintosh article. I had heard about the UT "Big Six" but never knew the exact chapters.

I do recall reading somewhere about Kay Bailey Hutchinson doing something, and the person replied, "Are you surprised, she was a Pi Phi from UT." Now I know why that statement was said.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

/slightly off topic/
I've stopped buying TM because over the last few years the mag has turned to having more ads and fewer articles. I mean, for a while it seemed they were doing a Texas Super Lawyers spread every month!

So now I don't buy it unless there is an article I really want to read.

SO true! They're smart as a fox to create ways to make money, but it is annoying. I've (mentally) threatened to cancel my subscription on several occasions, but there's always at least one good article each month and that keeps me going...

[Eightisgreat]

The problem with the current PNMs reading this article today (and it comes up pretty quickly on any search for UT sororities) is that it is a catalyst for some disappointing recruitments. Is it not human nature to not want to be the girl with the gold bangle? But the article does not paint the picture of UT sororities today. When the Texas Legislature passed the Top 10% rule and then later revised that specifically targeting UT and tightening the auto admit numbers to a percentage that would be 75% of the entering freshman class (8% for the Class of 2015 and 9% for the class of 2016) it dramatically shifted the pool of girls that attend UT, and therefore shifted the dynamic of the PNMs. It was not good enough to be a top notch cheerleader, active volunteer and average student. You needed to be academically superior…top 10% to even get a date to the big dance. Houses that continue to target ABC High School, can still get the cheerleaders, debs and dancers from that school if the girl was in the top 10% or was granted admission from holistic review. But because of the top 10% rule, girls gaining admission on holistic review are down dramatically, and without stereotyping, most girls that are top 10% are a mix of every type of extracurricular out there. But my point is that fabulous HS ABC is not sending their entire cheer squad to UT and they are certainly not sending all the debs either. Because of this, the typical “look” that used to come from these schools has shifted and therefore the culture and “look” of each house (all houses, Big 6 included) has changed.

UT has attracted dynamic and deep resume loaded women who can’t be forced into a mold. But when PNMs go through recruitment with this article in mind and with posts on GC that the Big 6 are still in play (and of course they are still in play, but in no way do they resemble the stereotypes in this article) they have a twisted sense of what they think the perfect sorority will be. (And we all know no house is perfect)

So Suzy PNM pledges a Big 6 only to find out that her “must have Big 6” is on academic probation and their social calendar is highly restricted because the chapter GPA is bottom of the barrel. (She is shocked because how can a Big 6 have one of the lowest GPAs??) She has never read about that, but like I said, the rules have changed, but no one is willing to talk about that…it just seems so easy to talk about the way it used to be. And then Amy PNM also pledges her “must have Big 6” only to find out that this group of women who on paper are class acts (you know they were all raised that way…) behave in ways that embarrass her and in a million years she just can’t figure out how that can be. Then Brooke PNM who followed her heart and was not pressured to believe the Big 6 is all that and a bag of chips; finds a true sisterhood, in an academically excellent chapter and loves that her house focuses on excellence instead of slamming everyone else to appear better. No one can say one house is better than the other. To PNMs perception is reality until they get inside and realize some of this just a mirage.

A writer who is willing to get down and dirty about UT recruitment will find some Big 6 houses rely on their reputations and age old descriptions of who they are….or maybe who they wish they were, while other Big 6 chapters are far better than that TM article says they are. And for the houses that aren’t even mentioned, as if they don’t deserve a column inch, that is where much of the treasure of UT is buried.