Running from the Thought Police

Great Women Don't Go Greek

:: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 ::

Great Women Don't Go Greek


"After making fools of themselves last year by showing that they don't know how to transliterate English to Greek (hint: Sigma is an S, not an E), the Panhellenic Council's slogan for the 2005 Fall Recruitment/Indoctrination season is "Great Women Go Greek." Rubbish, you say? That's exactly what I thought. Great women don't go greek. This should be fairly obvious, but let's break it down.

First off, great women don't need to pay money to have friends. They should be fully capable of forming their own social groups. (Side story: one sorority girl, when denying this point to my sister, said that she liked how she'd always have someone willing to go with her wherever she went. My sister remarked, "Oh, so you're paying for an escort service!" That girl never talked to my sister again.)

Great women are capable of being individuals. The girls who can't stand to be alone in high school, and the girls who need to fit in with the latest fashions, styles, slang, etc. are the ones who go straight into sororities. This is what the pledges get during their Indoctrination weekend: they all have to wear their identical t-shirts, carry their identical baggies/folders, sing the same house songs, and then be collectively force-marched through campus while wearing formal wear and high heels. While there is much to be said for the bonding experience obtained through collective suffering, this last point seems enough to weed out all the women who aren't absolutely desperate for acceptance and belonging. Then again, such women are very seldom great.

Great women can handle being socially independent. Great women do realize, though, that there is a time and a place for conformity, such as the military, where their conformity furthers a recognized public good.

Great women don't look down on guys who aren't in frats. Just because a male isn't interested in drinking his body weight in beer every weekend shouldn't make him inelligible in the dating sphere. (By the way, I do have a girlfriend, who isn't in the Greek system, so this rant is not the result of any recent bout of bitterness.)

Great women think that a service project consists of more than just standing around shaking change in a can.

Great women wear things other than slutwear when going out on weekends. More generally, great women do not spend large amounts of time objectifying their bodies so that they can get drunk frat guys to give them beer for free. I realize that many non-sorority women engage in the same behavior, but they, too, are not likely to be great. Great women also wear things other than slutwear to class.

[Added 1405, 30 August -ed.] On the subject of slutwear, great women aren't surprized when they're told that wearing "short jean skirts and tight white shirts, ripped just enough to flash their red, lace bras" while "gyrat[ing]on chairs, on the floor and on each other while a crowd of men, many of them drunk, laugh and cheer them on" isn't appropriate. Great women also are not outraged when someone says that they're acting like prostitutes when they are, well, acting like prostitutes.

If you're a young, impressionable freshman woman thinking of pledging this upcoming labor day weekend, my advice is to find something better to do. You'll actually be able to get homework done this weekend, keep your fancy clothes in the closet (where they generally belong freshman year), and maintain your individuality. You'll thank me later, when you actually are a great woman.

(And if you've noticed some non-great things sororities do that I've missed, feel free to drop me a line. Be civil, but truthful - the normal comments policy still applies.)"

:: The Squire 12:07 AM :: email this post :: ::

http://thesquire.blogspot.com/2005/08/great-women-dont-go-greek.html

I like that!

Instant Messenger: ,3

I have to say, as a Christian member of a GLO, I don't appreciate how you claim that great women don't join greek organizations, and you argue so via stereotypes, none of which I (or any of my good Christian GLO friends) fit into.

"First off, great women don't need to pay money to have friends. They should be fully capable of forming their own social groups."

This is the biggest argument against Greek life, and one of the ones that bothers me the most. When we as sorority members pay dues, we're not "paying for friends"; we're paying to support the various activities we do throughout the year (Homecoming, Greek Week, Philanthropy, sisterhood events, etc). And to say that women who join sororities don't know how to make friends on their own is completely false; how else would I have so many wonderful non-Greek friends, campus ministry friends, and even friends from other sororities? In fact, I'd be willing to say most women who go through recruitment are the kind of people who are capable of making friends, because joining an organization doesn't guarantee you friends. It guarantees you people who will be nice to you, but you have to make an effort to become friends, it's not as automatic as everyone thinks it is.

"Great women are capable of being individuals. The girls who can't stand to be alone in high school, and the girls who need to fit in with the latest fashions, styles, slang, etc. are the ones who go straight into sororities."

Also false. Although there are sorority women out there whom I would consider to be "sheep," most sorority women are leaders, either in their sorority or in various other organizations on campus. Also, although some sororities (in the movies, anyways) are like this, I know my campus PHA is actually trying to get rid of this by starting a "no-frills" recruitment, where we won't be allowed to wear the exact same thing during recruitment. I actually kind of like the idea of it.

"Great women don't look down on guys who aren't in frats. "

Fun fact: most of the sorority women I know are dating non-Greeks, because they don't have a problem with them. I personally find that I am more frequently attracted to non-Greek men, but I think that's just because I don't "frat it up" every weekend like society stereotypes that I do. So the only guys I hang out with are in my campus ministry and my classes.

"Great women wear things other than slutwear when going out on weekends"

Okay, this is unfortunately true for many members of the Greek system. But you can't just assume that everyone in the Greek system does this, thereby saying if I'm in a GLO I'm not a great woman. You know what I do on weekends? I study. Or I hang out with my roommate (without alcohol or drugs), or I might even go hang out with my campus ministry friends. I can't recall the last time I went to a party, and I can assure you I wasn't dressed in "slutwear." Not every sorority girl, even those that go to parties, are out to get sex. Sure, some are, but most aren't. Because most of them go home at the end of the night and don't "shack" with a fraternity member.

Overall, I don't appreciate your broad generalization that great women aren't in sororities. I can tell you as a member of both a campus ministry and a GLO, that there are great women in Greek life. My campus ministry has made an effort to evangelize to the Greek community, has a good number of sorority members in it, a few of whom even serve as Bible study leaders. These women don't drink, make fools of themselves, or dress in so-called "slutwear"--they strive to live as Jesus wanted, and continue to use their position as a Greek member to reach out to their sorority sisters and tell them about Jesus. And I know I've seen it written somewhere on here that you don't think unbelievers and Christians should both be in Greek life--well if we don't hang out with them, HOW CAN WE GET THEM TO TURN TO CHRIST??? Did not Jesus evangelize to prostitutes, cripples, and criminals? Didn't Jesus turn water into wine? There is nothing non-Christian about being a part of Greek life. As long as you stand your ground as a Christian, live your life according to Biblical standards, and reach out to the Greek community, I believe this is the place that God intended for me to be.

Also, stop judging sorority and fraternity women. That is God's job, and His alone.

This issue about Bible Studies, ministry, etc., does your sorority ritual ever come up for examination? Does the reason for secrecy ever get questioned? If you are saying that you do not like the conformity of dress during the process,then push for open membership. no process of any type. Just pay your money and get in. Look at the oxymoron between sororities and your campus ministry. What's the process to join your campus ministry? How long does it take? What are the requirements? How much does it cost? Do I have to keep secrets?

Do you see what I mean? GLO's are different animals as organizations. They are not Christlike

The issue of leadership on campus. This is a main goal of Greeks to control various aspects of campus life.

Finally, if your sorority and/or campus ministry is so full of believers and committed to Jesus, take a trip to an abortion clinic and protest. Protest gay marriage, and bring all of these Greeks you are trying to win to Christ how standing up for righteousness really is.

By the way, you do not have to be Greek to reach out to the Greek community.

You said not to judge sorority girls right? But you just judged some people in your post. I challenge you to see where you judged. And by the way, if we never made judgments and left it all to God, then everyone would be just fine and have no need for us to approach them.



Greeks will NEVER break the the stereotypes, because they are not stereotypes. If they would drop secrecy and move to open membership, Greek life's true essence would be made known.