"Less than one percent of all college-aged women in the United States were enrolled in colleges and universities in 1870. These pioneers challenged the commonly held notion that women had inferior minds. Yet they sought a delicate balance as they still ascribed to the era's belief in the values of "true womanhood."
"In explaining Kappa Alpha Theta's origins, Bettie Locke once said, "the Fraternity was always second in my mind to coeducation. It was organized to help the girls win out in their fight to stay in college on a man's campus. We had to make a place for women in a man's world, and the Fraternity was one means to that bigger end."
Both of these quotes come from Texas Christian University's Kappa Alpha Theta sorority About page. I have so, so many friends from high school in various sorority chapters now, and it's always so interesting talking to them about their experiences. It's a strange mixture of de Beauvoir and Rich. While the cultivation of female friendships, female community, and female experience is an aspect of sorority life that Rich would approve of, the pursuit of "true womanhood" stands in direct conflict with de Beauvoir's myth of Womanhood.
The challenge to the common belief that woman had "inferior minds" is obviously a worthwhile pursuit, but at what cost? The sorority culture is ultimately homogenizing (see the top bar of their Officers page) and limits the concept of woman, I think, to an even narrower definition. TCU sorority girls define themselves as intelligent, responsible, charitable, and...cute. This is problematic, in that "true Womanhood" is wrapped up in cultural constructions of beauty. It also relates to our class discussion on critical race theory. Notice the complete lack of ethnic and racial diversity within this chapter (and it's not exclusive to the TCU Thetas.) The social constructions of the sorority result in a strange phenomenon. It is not good, even if they do a ton of community service.
Questions:
Can a group like a sorority circumvent the trap of "true Womanhood," practically speaking?
I doubt it. Can a single sorority transcend what the Greek system advocates?
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that what was once subculture— "It was organized to help the girls win out in their fight to stay in college on a man's campus"— has been popularized and valorized to the point where joining a sorority/fraternity is not only the norm, but what is expected. I also think the issue of ethnic and racial diversity within sororities is fascinating— what do we do with all-black sororities and fraternities? Can "true womanhood" (or "true manhood" for that matter) be reached if groups of women are kept separate?
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