Sorors' Have you seen this???

[CrimsonTide4]

I just finally saw the pics. OMFG!! Too much for my soul.

[Lady of Pearl]

The founders must be rolling over in their graves. Speechless!

[KingFridayXIII]

To the men who are members of underground sororities:

Wow, what attention has been brought to you in the past few days! No matter where we turned, we saw pictures of one of your events. In our email, on message boards, and on facebook, we saw pictures of what appeared to be a probate show. Several comments we read about these pictures were complimentary – focusing mainly on your outfits and masks, as well as some of your individual physical features.

Unfortunately, the majority of the comments we read were negative. The homophobia that was so virulent in these responses was not your fault. We will not condone any responses that threatened your safety or right to express yourselves the way you see fit. Those comments against you were wrong and we hope that those people one day see the error of their hatred.

You know that the world in which we live is not forgiving to gay men. You know that it is even less forgiving for gay men who embrace a more feminine aesthetic. In 2006, our hero Kevin Aviance was nearly beaten to death. Transgender people all across this country are being brutally murdered. And we aren’t that far away from the death of Matthew Shepard. Yes, it is dangerous out here for all gay people, especially those who are not closeted or on the so-called “DL.”

That is why along with the right to express yourselves freely also comes a very important responsibility. Gentlemen, your actions go beyond expressing yourselves. You are expressing an affinity for and connection to an organization that does not feel that same connection to you. It is unfair of you to express yourselves in this way when the vast majority of members of this organization do not identify with you.

When you dress in pink and green, assume the “ivy stance” and mirrors, have probate shows, line up according to height and number yourselves…when you assemble yourselves into an organization that, at best, idolizes the organization that you admire so highly, it actually does the exact opposite of what you intend. It forces a relationship that was not meant to be. It is unfair to the women that you idolize.

By now, many of you are reading this and are pointing to your history as a justification for your existence. We will not be the one to tell you that your history is not real. However, we do implore you – share the text that confirms the existence of “Wade Lyle” and then we can continue this discourse on a scholarly level.

Until then, we ask you, men to men – stop what you are doing. In addition to the strife you are causing the women you admire, you are making it hard for gay men who are fighting in other arenas on your behalf. The closeted gay men who were inching toward the outness that you celebrate are now inching in the other direction because of the homophobia that you are inciting. The out gay men who are striving toward equality can’t defend you when your lack of decorum is so blatant.

What can we now? We humbly and respectfully ask you to stop. It is harming gay black men. It is harming the sorority you are emulating. It is harming men in gay fraternities with their own unique identity. It is harming gay members of traditional fraternities and sororities. In fact, your actions are only benefiting yourselves – which is antithetical to the values of the sorority you are attempting to emulate.

You have the power to end underground sororities. If it is fraternalism that you seek, there are several fraternities for gay men of color. In fact, there are fraternities for lesbian women – why can’t there be a sorority for gay men? I want you to be inspired to make that change. Eliminate the traditions of another organization from your program. Be yourselves. Be strong. Be unique.

If you do not stop these behaviors, we cannot continue to include you in the discourse on equality. It is unfair to have to defend your right to express yourselves when you take it too far. In addition, if you do not end these harmful traditions, we will not support your candidacy in traditional fraternities through sponsorship, letters of reference, or an affirmative vote. Finally, we will endeavor to report your unauthorized use and reproduction of registered trademarks to the appropriate officials. Your use of official sorority symbols is perhaps the most brazen of your disrespectful actions.

We will continue to pray for your continued safety in the areas in which you operate. Most importantly, we will continue to hope that you change your ways before a homophobe decides to take the decision away from you.

Peace and blessings,
Concerned gay men of color.

*If you know an underground sorority member, please send this to them.*

[Lyoness]

it has taken me all day to come up with something to say. Although I am a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,Inc. I am LIVID!!! IMO, this is not only disrespectful to AKA and everything they stand for but it also MOCKS all BGLOs! These organizations were founded to UPLIFT the community and be agents of social justice and change, not strut and prance and wear pari all day. These young fools obviously think that's what all BGLOs are about.

My father (Kappa ) and stepfather (Omega ) saw these pics and were not happy. (To say the least). Our organizations were (@ founding) and still are shelters in the storm (my father attended Indiana U in the 70s and can attest to that).... They were founded on Christian principles to show African-Americans in an educated and positive light. When BGLOs were founded at the earlier part of the last century, we were regularly lynched, maligned, and regulated to 2cd and 3rd class citizenship! Our organizations were founded to counter the image of the animalistic, hedonistic African-American and be active in the Civil Rights struggle that still exist today.

I JOINED DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC. BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THE MISSION OF MY BELOVED ORGANIZATION and in MY BEAUTIFUL WISE AND BRAVE FOUNDERS!! I STRIVE TO BE A BEACON IN MY COMMUNITY AND AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT A GOOD DELTA AND A MEMBER OF DIVINE NINE SHOULD BE. I'm not from a very big city so some people can't really distinguish between different organizations so on some level I do feel like I represent all of us.

I know I'm rambling and I hope that my comments don't come off as homophobic b/c they're not. I actually have gay relatives and I love them. These young men just embarrassed themselves and based on the angry homophobic comments that got pulled from Facebook they made lots of enemies too. I understand they feel like they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves... maybe they feel rejected in their own communities and familes for being gay. (Just a thought) But like a previous poster said there is a Black Greek Organization for Gay Men. If they wanted to make a statement (i.e. BE SERIOUS) and be agents of change in the gay community and do bridge building work with other BGLOs on campus and in the community at large: That would have been the way to go. Petition to start a chapter on your campus; don't hijack and mock someone else's org.

That's my two cents.

[Lyoness]

I posted my comments b4 i read the above letter. THANK YOU!!! You words are elegant and I'm glad that someone from your organization chose to speak on the subject. We just had that group from Kansas protest at another soldiers funeral last week and I'm tired of the homophobia, racism, and hatred.

Bless you so much!!

[lovelyivy84]

Well said to Lyoness and KingFriday.

While the trappings of our organizations - calls, colors, stances- are fun and meaningful in their way they are not the heart of what we stand for. When I think of the history of our orgs I am SO PROUD to be a member. By mimicing the trappings without understanding or really seeming to care what lies beneath these young men are doing themselves a disservice. They would be better served creating an org that would celebrate and uplift their community and the greater community through their works. One ina an original mold that would be meaningful to THEM.

[DSTCHAOS]

I refuse to believe that such photos are to be used as more than brief entertainment.

Those of you who are using these photos as an opportunity for an "I Have A Dream Part II" speech, need to save it.

This stuff has been going on long before internet photos made this material for public scrutiny. Nobody cares about the manifestos of naysayers. It just gives more attention to already extremely vain and excessively flamboyant male sorority members. If this is meant to be spoken out against and stopped, the AKA chapters and AKA nhq will do something. If they choose not to, I advise others to not waste their time and energy.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 1908Revelations

There are Sorors on that campus, I just wish I knew how those Sorors feel? I wonder do those guys? try to affiliate with the members of the Sorority? Maybe it is my neo-isms, but I just wanna know.

Maybe they are the ones who helped these men be what they are. Maybe not. The most important thing is that it's Friday and I'm craving some seafood.

[1908Revelations]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Maybe they are the ones who helped these men be what they are. Maybe not. The most important thing is that it's Friday and I'm craving some seafood.

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SummerChild]

Well, first of all, I wish that people would stop calling them "sorors" and "sorority" members. Anyone who has ANY knowledge about greekdom should know what "soror" means and thus, they are NEVER going to be anyone's "soror." People need to get up on their information.

Second, there are going to be some things in life that I will just never understand. This silliness is one of them. To me, it's akin to a child admiring her mother so much that she dresses up like her in her mother's clothes. Eventually, that child grows up and becomes her own woman. Similarly, why not just form your own fraternity? Goodness knows everybody's doing it these days so it's obviously not that difficult. LOL.

I'm perturbed about them appropriating our symbols and thereby associating our organization with their foolishness. Perhaps I need to check with my soror-friend at Corporate to see what can be done.

SC

[teena]

Media Takeout has this story now

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

I refuse to believe that such photos are to be used as more than brief entertainment.

Those of you who are using these photos as an opportunity for an "I Have A Dream Part II" speech, need to save it.

This stuff has been going on long before internet photos made this material for public scrutiny. Nobody cares about the manifestos of naysayers. It just gives more attention to already extremely vain and excessively flamboyant male sorority members. If this is meant to be spoken out against and stopped, the AKA chapters and AKA nhq will do something. If they choose not to, I advise others to not waste their time and energy.

Def!

[DSTRen13]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

Well, first of all, I wish that people would stop calling them "sorors" and "sorority" members. Anyone who has ANY knowledge about greekdom should know what "soror" means and thus, they are NEVER going to be anyone's "soror." People need to get up on their information.

Sorry, hijack.

I'm not defending this group in particular (nor do I want to), but re: using the terms "soror", "sister", or "sorority" for male individuals or groups with men ... Just like some orgs are coed fraternities (ie APhiO, KKPsi), others are coed sororities (ie OPhiA, GSS, TBS). When men join these sororities (more common in some orgs than others), they are referred to as sorors or sisters, just as a female member of APhiO is called a brother.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Def!

LOL!!

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

Anyone who has ANY knowledge about greekdom should know what "soror" means and thus, they are NEVER going to be anyone's "soror."

Way to overstate the obvious.

They are "male sorority members." Not because they are women or official members, but because they have crossed the line from auxilliary to something else. Take that up with them. LOL.