What are some positive ways that the power of Greek organizations can be harnessed?
Becker, Carolyn Black, and Eric Stice. The Sorority Body Image Program : Group Leader Guide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
In "The Sorority Body Image Program", Becker and Stice attempt to equip sororities with knowledge and exercises to empower these young women to feel good about their bodies. They explain that the Body Image program was actually founded by young women from a sorority from Trinity College (especially Delta Delta Delta). Becker and Stice believe that sororities are the best demographic to target to change college and popular culture about body image, because they are the largest self-governed organizations on college campuses. Thus, the Sorority Body Image Program is an example how sororities and fraternities can use their connections to make college campuses a more safe and healthy place.
Reading the Sorority Body Image Program was a relief for me. After mucking through all of the negative sludge about fraternities and sororities, I finally found some proof about the good things that Greek organizations are doing to help college culture. Of course, it is important to keep in mind that this program is run by sororities, not male fraternities. The more information I ingest about fraternities and sororities, it really does appear that male fraternities are the bigger problem on college campuses. Males, especially fraternity males are quick to "fat-brand" women, so even if a sisterhood runs Body Image event and these women feel good about themselves for a few weeks, how long will these good feelings last? I am no feminist, but it really appears men run the sexuality and body image show. It seems that women who try to embrace a healthy body image will merely be castigated by men, and women will push these "fat" female friends away to be desired by attractive men. If all of women were on the same page, even if all sorority girls were on the same page, they could push to change body image standards. But women are catty and compete against eachother. The existence of the "DUFF" (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) seems to confirm this-- many women are so insecure about their body image that they feel better when they look better than their friends.
This source builds up on Source 4, the other book source that I used that interviewed many fraternity males and females. Source 4 held conversations with females about their body image and mentioned DUFFs. It also mentioned that selective sororities keep out "fat" females from their organizations, because they are worried about maintaining their super sexy reputation for the best and hottest fraternities. Body image and the hyper-sexualization are themes that are redundant in both fraternities and sororities-- males are also objectified for their cut abs, their ripped pecs, and they buy expensive fat-burning products and gym memberships just to get big and keep up. The result is that the members of both fraternities and sororities are super self-conscious about their body image, and this causes a few things. First, it makes them insecure, but the end result is even worse-- they put down others that don't meet their body standards. For females, this means castigating "fat" girls, and for males, this means putting down people who "don't lift". The sense of superiority these groups allegedly feel may really originate from an inferiority complex, which means that these elite campus groups may not really be too different from the schoolyard bully in some cases.
This is my last source, and I think it has helped me obtain more of a balanced view of fraternities and sororities. There is a lot of diversity among these groups (there are many different kinds of Greek organizations), but I think identity and body image and conformity are important to these groups. The types of students who join fraternities or sororities may pretend they are joining because they are more social, but maybe they lack an identity, and don't feel confident about making new friends on campus, so they surround themselves with superficiality. It is unfortunate that in these moments in vulnerability (many leave their state and finds themselves alone and unknown in a big new college), these students pay money to buy friends. The real price is conformity, a price they will pay for the next four years but feel for the rest of their lives, for they completely miss the chance to explore themselves and the other cultures and experiences that college has to offer. They will graduate and only feel comfortable with those who feel and look like them, but hey, maybe this conformity will prepare them for the corporate world.
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