Read Recently: “Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities” by Alexandra Robbins
Title: Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
Author: Alexandra Robbins
Backstory: Saw a copy at Clean Well Lighted a few months ago and was mildly curious. Still trying to read investigative books but liked the idea of one that didn’t involve a war or international tade policy. Got it from the library.
Notes: Robbins followed four newly-minted sorority members at a university she couldn’t reveal (the only way the members would agree to talk to her) for the length of a school year. In between chapters are essays on the more controversial aspects of sorority life–alcohol, comformity, sexuality, and that MTV show.
Verdict:
Robbins is thorough, dogged, and admits her story’s limitations, a refreshing shift from the macho exhautive air that hangs over too much investigative journalism. Her structural choices, dashing from her subjects to larger analysis of issues, aren’t ones I would have made and too often feel like she wrote two books and stitched then together. I prefer the more interwoven style of a Malcolm Gladwell or a Ted Conover. And while her prose can seem workmanlike, its a smart decision given she’s chosen an subject prone to hysteria, melodrama and titilation.
What I learned: Sororities are just plain scary. I had a brief flirtation with fraternity rush in college and at least there, you know what awaits you. You’ll get the crap thrown at you for several weeks but once you’re in, all is forgiven and everyone acts stupid together and with equanimity. At least that’s what I heard.
Sororities, not so much. There’s power struggles with the other members (right out of Queen Bees and Wannabees), maintaining the right “image” for the sorority by associating with the right fraternities, not acting too slutty or being too ugly in the face of the national organization. It reaffirms the worst stereotypes we have about women and female bonding rituals. And though it seems to be a great networking tool in the deep south or if you’re African-American (Black greeks are a whole different animal which thankfully Robbins does not ignore), for most young women, within 5 years of graduation their sorority means almost nothing to them.
It sounds like a hoot to you, I can see why you’d join. Otherwise, sororities sound like the military or a cult. They grab you when you at the most vulnerable age and station in life, promising you belonging, loyalty and community. It’s only after you’re in that you’re clobbered other baggage comes with it.
Followup:
Admirers and Greeks react at Amazon.