Throughout my rush experience, a lot of the people that I talked to (and during rush you talk your face off for four days straight) said they almost didn’t join Greek life because they never saw themselves as “sorority girls.” I was never sure how to respond to that because, "Yes, I too am a giant nerd majoring in Ancient Studies" somehow didn't seem like the right thing to say.
But if we aren't like them, who are these mythical “sorority girls?"
Well, the media stereotype is a blond, white girl sitting around on daddy’s yacht, cackling with other twig thin blond girls. In every teen movie ever, this girl is dating a hunky frat boy, working diligently toward her MRS degree all the while maintaining a backstabbing empire of Barbie clones.
That girl is pretty damn scary.
I rushed because my mom was in a sorority, and I saw how much fun she had had and the close bonds she had formed with her sisters, but if I hadn’t had that first-hand connection and my only impression about sororities was from the media, I wouldn’t have touched rush with a ten-foot pole. That would have been my loss, because since joining a sorority I’ve gained a group of sisters who love and support me. We’re a wonderful group of women. Not only do we have a GPA higher than the all-women's average at UMBC, we regularly give back to the community through acts of philanthropy and service.
Admittedly, Greek life at UMBC is smaller than at other schools, and we don’t have Greek housing, so this does make us less ‘traditional’ in terms of a stereotypical Greek community. And yes, there are some people who view membership in a sorority as mainly a status symbol, or entry into a 24/7 party. And yes, you can find instances of hazing, racism, sexual assault and poor conduct in sororities across the country. But those are the exceptions. Not the rule.
So why do we never hear about the millions of dollars raised for charity or the thousands of hours donated to community service? Or simply the love that a sorority sister shows her chapter through the hours she spends learning about its history, preserving it's rituals, and making it a home away from home for her sisters?
Because it's easier for the media to sell us as dumb, sexually commodified bitches. Not people with real thoughts or feelings, or struggles. But this harmful, and frankly sexist, narrative not only hurts sorority sisters, but it hurts people who might want to be in a sorority but who are told through the media that they can't be unless they're vapid, white, able-bodied and have shiny blond hair. This also means that the chapters miss out on people who could have brought their passion, their skills, and their friendship to a sorority and worked to make it a better place.
I'm not cool with that. Let's not be lazy, we need to challenge these harmful stereotypes and the institutions that perpetuate them.
There are no sexy pillow fights. Period.
But there is glitter. I can’t lie to you.
