Time to End Lavaliering?

DubaiSis · #1 10-12-2013, 11:43 AM

Never having been laveliered in college (at a school where it most definitely was done

) I would have loved to participate in the tradition. Not enough to put up with any of the guys I had any hope of getting to that point with, but still...

But I think it does bring up an interesting question about same-sex sharing of letters and men or women who are both part of different fraternities. I find it more interesting than important to resolve, but I can't help but think this is a kumbayah moment. I wasn't in college THAT long ago, and there's no way in hell this issue would have been discussed with a straight face or without a huge dose of derision. Now, I remember a guy friend telling me some of the fraternities should have been having exchanges (as we called them, mixers, parties, whatever you call them) with EACH OTHER. But that was a pretty controversial thing to say. There wouldn't have been a glimmer of a thought that this Kappa Sig would have worn a Lambda Chi lavelier.

MysticCat · #2 10-12-2013, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

There wouldn't have been a glimmer of a thought that this Kappa Sig would have worn a Lambda Chi lavelier.

To me, this gets at the practical crux of the matter. Questions of whether it's an outdated tradition, sexist or heterosexist aside, when a male lavalieres or pins a female or allows her to wear his letters in some other way, there is no risk of confusion that she will be seen as a member of his fraternity. (That is, assuming we're not talking about a co-ed fraternity.) But when a male lavalieres or pins his boyfriend or otherwise allows him to wear letters, then there is that risk of confusion. Perhaps a solution lies in some token specifically intended only for a significant other.

Disclaimer: My fraternity doesn't allow anyone other than initiated brothers to wear the letters or the badge, so traditional lavaliering or pinning is out for us. It was once allowed, and we did once have a smaller mother's/wife's/fiancée's badge available, but it has since been prohibited nationally.