Problematic Sorority Recruitment Video?

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I agree with Senusret's assessment about the athlete. When that part came up I was like "What is this about?"

A friend of mine posted on Facebook what I think the other concern really is by saying something like "I never understood where these stereotypes of sorority women came from until I saw this video." I'm sure this is not the only chapter in the country with a video like this. I'm not sure it tells anything about the sisterhood or values of the organization... unless it does (which might be more upsetting). It doesn't reflect my sorority experience in any way so it seems quite foreign to me.

When I think about what we tell the PNMs about what to wear for recruitment, we always say "not too short" "not too much cleavage" "you're dressing to impress women, not men". This video is doing the opposite of all of that advice. I don't know what a 19 year old me would think watching it. I don't see it impressing the college age women I know well.

I wouldn't bash the chapter that did it. But I would say I don't think it's the best or most accurate way to portray our organizations to the public.

I find myself wondering what it says to women who are going to rush at other schools. It may speak to the personality of one chapter, but does it portray something the organization wants portrayed overall?

Frankly, I despise these videos, so I haven't watched it. The fact it's generating controversy makes me wonder what APhi's members throughout the rest of the country think.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DGTess

I find myself wondering what it says to women who are going to rush at other schools. It may speak to the personality of one chapter, but does it portray something the organization wants portrayed overall?

I said something similar in mods' corner. I'd hate to think a young woman at my alma mater (or yours for that matter) would choose not to rush because she doesn't feel she fits this mold. And, to go the other way, I'd hate for a woman at Alabama to not rush if she saw a rush video from MY school and didn't feel she fit the mold. I know that people should be able to understand that all Greek systems are different, but when the media is slamming one particular example in your face, you might begin to question whether that's really true.

A few years back I had a fight with a poster on this very board where she was insisting that sorority rush is no different than any other kind of marketing. Now this poster was a sketchy mono and a perp but besides all that, she was wrong. When forever 21 tries to get you to buy a sweater, they're not promising that sweater will be with you for the rest of its life. They're not promising that sweater will make you a better person. I will never forget what one of the collegian from one of our other chapters (supposedly a "party all the time, don't give a crap about anything else" chapter) wrote to me when my chapter closed - she said " these letters are not an advertisement, they mean something."