DePauw DZ Chapter to Women: "You're Not Pretty, er, Committed Enough!"
So the blogosphere is abuzz with this controversial NYT article about the Delta Zeta sorority chapter which kicked out over 2/3rds of its members for their “lack of commitment” (read: not being white, thin, or popular enough with frat boys.) Naturally, talking heads are rolling, child psychiatrists are lamenting the downfall of American society, and the rest of us act as if golly, a sorority has never been critiqued for being superficial.
I’ve always been jealous of the kind of chicks who seem totally happy with their sororities. As an alien to Greek life, I’ve always envied the giddiness on girls’ faces when they talk about the exhilaration of rush, the girl bonding that occurs during pledging, and the lifelong friendships that exist as a result. Girls at Penn (which I believe is one of the only Ivies to allow Greek life) wear their charm necklaces with pride—badges of membership in a special, exclusive club that not everyone can share. The group aspect sounds like it could be delightful, fun, friendly. Yet as this article shows, not all is well in Tri-Delt paradise.
The best part of the article is that 6 of the 12 DZ girls asked to stay left, in order to support their ex-communicated friends. That, to me, is real sisterhood—supporting each other even when peer pressure would make the opposite tempting. Those girls don’t need charm bracelets or midnight rituals to be friends. To me, that’s real community, real “girl power.”
(That’s the group of rejects at the top, by the way. Peroxide blonde and waif thin this group ain’t, but they’re all radiantly gorgeous in their own way. Oh, and chicks with glasses? HOT.)
Image credit: Andrew Hancock for the New York Times
ETA: The generally Awesome blogger Susie Bright has a well-written (albeit a bit less optimistic) write up on her blog about the DZ fiasco.
Double ETA: Awwwwww! One of the ex-sorority members’ boyfriends wrote an article lamenting the sexist, lookist bullshit behind the Delta Zeta axing. You go, boy! The world needs more smart men like you.
Comments
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fmp, Feb 27, 19:35:
I’ve been looking for some good new, (well new to me) blogs to read. Thanks this is truly awesome reading. :)
Isil, Mar 3, 12:22:
Nice blog.
I see no real difference between out in the open, blunt “discrimination” actions like those and the other subtle and way more perverse aproachs.
Oh and about bonding and your mixed feelings about “missing” a sorority experience; it s ussualy less mature or resilient personalities that need big structures around them to find a female identification bond, for what ve read you dont seem that type.