Sorority Stereotypes… Is the Media to Blame?

               For many girls, joining a sorority is a major part of college.  Sororities promote sisterhood, womanly character, independence, academic excellence, service and philanthropy along with many other things.  Being in a sorority can mold a young girl into a strong independent woman.  All these things sound so great, but many people seem to believe that the stereotypes associated with sororities outweigh the benefits that they come with.  Where might these stereotypes come from?  Mainly from the media.  Movies and TV shows often portray sorority women as having low self-worth, never going to class and only caring about parties and anything associated with alcohol.  Often these women are dumber than a slice of bread and can’t even seem to remember which way is up.  Sororities are basically seen as party clubs.  There are many examples of this; The House Bunny, Old School, Animal House, Legally Blonde, Greek, American Pie movies and Sorority Row just to name a few.  Are these stereotypes accurate and is the media to blame for them?

One of the most well-known and talked about stereotypes is that being in a sorority is like paying for friends.  While sororities can be a little pricey, dues and membership fees are required of practically all organizations.  In order to keep things running in any sorority, a lot of money has to go into it.  From philanthropy events to housing payments, mixers and fundraisers, t-shirts, sisterhood activities, etc, the list of things sororities have to spend money on is rather extensive.  One might ask why they are so expensive when they are constantly having fundraisers.  While sororities do raise lots of money, it usually all goes to their philanthropy (breast cancer awareness, Make-a-wish foundation, Ronald McDonald house, etc,) or some other charitable cause.  Each sorority has a national council that enforces things like dues and membership fees, so there is really no way around it.  Although it does take a lot of money to make a sorority work, these payments do not cover friendship and sisterhood.  Going to events and raising money and being around each other all the time, these girls are bound to become best friends.  They probably won’t get along with everyone in the sorority, but they will eventually find their place.  Rumor has it that bridesmaids and lifelong friends are made through sororities and that is something that no amount of money could buy.

Another important stereotype to address is that sorority girls are dumb, self-absorbed and don’t care about doing well in school.  Movies like The House Bunny depict sorority girls as illiterate bimbos who scrape by their college years barely going to class and only caring about partying.  Sure these things are entertaining, but they can definitely be taken offensively by real life sorority girls.  Most sororities have academic and GPA requirements, study hall hours along with service hours and a multitude of other requirements.  These things make it practically impossible just to “scrape by.”  Even to sign up to be in a sorority a certain GPA is usually required and once initiated maintenance of that GPA is mandatory or else serious consequences could occur.  Sororities pride themselves on having high academic standards and will often compete yearly for the highest average GPA.  More often than not, a sororities overall GPA or the GPA of all sororities combined is higher than that of the overall college GPA.  As for being self-absorbed, most sorority women are the complete opposite of that.  Sororities each have their own philanthropy for which they raise money and hold many events for throughout the year.  According to the article “Viewpoint: debunking 4 Greek-life stereotypes” by Lindsay Holmes, “Greek organizations make up the largest network of volunteers in the U.S., donating more than 10 million hours of volunteer service each year; raising more than $7 million annually for various organizations and charities.”  Doesn’t really sound like something that self-absorbed girls would participate in.  These demands and requirements provide girls with extra motivation to do well academically, do good in the community and maintain the sorority’s reputation.

Another stereotype that is commonly associated with sororities is that sorority girls only care about parties and guys.  This stereotype is obviously straight from the movies where sorority girls are to be viewed as mindless sex objects.  Any college student, Greek or not, is going to party.  Sorority members have the same academic commitments as regular students, along with a long list of other responsibilities giving them limited time for recreational activities much less for partying.  As for the part about guys, sorority girls are known for sleeping around.  College campuses in general are known as hotbeds for STDs and sexual activity.  Greek events are often very publicized.  Things such as mixers and other events where fraternities and sororities come together may cause this stereotype, but as with any college party sexual acts are bound to happen.  “Frat bros” are often stereotyped as sex centered so sorority women are automatically connected with that.  People assume that since frat guys are so “sex crazy,” sorority girls are only there to fulfil their needs.  Through these stereotypes sorority women are objectified which is altogether unfair. 

            Along with these stereotypes, many people believe that you can only get into a sorority with your looks.  Contrary to popular belief, not all sorority girls are Lilly Pulitzer-clad, pearl wearing, preppy Stepford wives as they are in the movies. There will always be a few girls in a sorority who are basing their sorority experience on superficial things, most often looks, but it is too often that people value the looks of the girls in a sorority over the character of the girls in a sorority.  People and students not involved in Greek life will judge an entire sorority by the looks of the girls within it.  Again, this is unfair and unrealistic.  Looks can only get you so far in life and in the recruiting process sororities look for character over looks.  Looks is actually one of the last things on their list.  People need to learn to look past the looks and the letters and get to know sorority women for who they truly are.  Look past these things and people will see a diverse group of strong women in all colors shapes and sizes.  Assumptions are the downfall of today’s society, and these types of assumptions can lead to dangerous things for potential new members of Greek life.  Coming into recruitment or in preparation, girls might believe these stereotypes and think that they won’t get in if they aren’t skinny enough or tan enough or pretty enough.  This can lead to things like eating disorders, skin cancer, and numerous other health risks.  Even once in a sorority, girls still feel the pressures of these stereotypes because people on the outside expect this sort of perfection out of them.  It is because of this stereotype that there are programs in place across many collegiate campuses that promote prevention against eating disorders. In the article "Moving from Efficacy to Effectiveness in Eating Disorders Prevention: The Sorority Body Image Program," author Carolyn Becker talks about the medias impact on body image and how eating disorders are rather common among sorority girls. She addresses, however, that these problems are not going unnoticed. Becker talks about the programs being implemented on many college campuses in order to prevent these types of disorders or stop them in their tracks. In a way this is debunking the stereotype of eating disorders in sororities, because many sororities are now developing these prevention programs and are doing things to promote positive body image and self-worth. Being that sorority girls are at a higher risk for eating disorders, these kinds of programs could be very important for the health of many girls.

            Another stereotype that is important to address is hazing.  While there is no way to know what goes on at every school, all panhellenic sororities have a very strict no-hazing policy.  Sororities have to be very careful about what they tell their girls to do because even something as little as a pet name could be considered hazing.  If a sorority is accused of hazing, serious consequences could occur, as far as the entire sorority being eliminated from campus for years.  It is the same with most fraternities as well. 

Often times it may seem like the negatives of being in a sorority or the stereotypes associated with them outweigh the positive things. Being a part of a sorority can open many doors for young women and not all those open doors are good choices. Young women (not just in sororities but in college in general) have ready access to alcohol and other substances, even if they are underage.  It all comes down to the choices they make.  Any student could choose to go to a party instead of studying for a test or doing homework. It is up to that young woman to make smart decisions for herself.  Despite the negative influence of the media, sororities truly help young women to develop strong character, sisterly bonds of friendship, and create a sense of community among each other.  A sorority is like a second family, a home away from home for many students.  If a girl is struggling with anything, she has a whole support system of upwards of 200 sisters to help her, sometimes more. While sororities do come with social benefits, the main reason girls should join is to enhance their collegiate experience with a group of young women and friends who strive for excellence.  In conclusion, the media has wrongfully portrayed sororities through stereotypes and people need to realize that this is wrong and unfair.  Hopefully society begins to understand sororities and sorority women for what they really are and see past the stereotypes the media has placed in our minds.