Greek, GDI, Status, Power, Superficiality

What is it?

I am going to start out this letter by stating this isn’t an attack on the Greek community. First, I’d like to say I am a proud and outspoken member of the Gamma Delta Iota (GDI) sorority. I have many friends who are in the Greek system. In fact, most of my best friends whom I aspire to become, are all Greek. So what’s my problem? Why am I angry?

I went through IU’s Greek recruitment with an open mind to whatever might happen. Although I didn’t receive the houses I saw myself thriving in, I gave the process a chance and grew closer to many girls. What struck me as contradictory and even concerning was the obsession with this concept known as the “Tier System”. For those of you that don’t know, the “Tier System” is a hierarchy that classifies each Greek house into three different rankings. Usually, the rankings are top, middle and low tier. What exactly is the point of this system? Well good question, there is no point. The actual effect of the this system is the divide it inflicts upon the Greek community, by constituting that certain houses are “better” than others.

Then the question is asked, what criteria classifies a house to be top, middle or low tier? And that’s the concerning part of this whole system. How exactly can one “rank” the sisterhood of a house!? How can you classify one house’s sisterhood as being better than another one? Can you ACTUALLY rank an inherently non-numeric concept!? That’s right, you can’t. That’s because the tier system is focused on superficial qualities that defy the actual objective of the Greek community. At least for sororities, the houses that are considered “higher tier”, are the ones that have “more attractive” females. And who exactly judges which girls are deemed as “more attractive”!? That’s right, males. As if having a tier system within a community that supposedly promotes inclusion, philanthropy,diversity, sister and brotherhood isn’t problematic enough, the fact that a house’s “reputation” is based upon the subjective view of the opposite sex is more than troubling.

It doesn’t make sense why a sisterhood is even judged or even classified in any way. And as much as I want to say that we as females can rise above it, that hasn’t been the case. As a gender that is known for caring about what other people think, especially the view of guys, many fall under the trap of the self-fulfilling prophecy.The essence of this idea is that if one is told enough that they are a certain way, eventually they are going to start being that way regardless of whether or not that’s really who they are. If the overall opinion of a certain sorority house is that they are “top” tier, of course that house wants to strive to live up to that expectation. But what I’m saying is that it doesn’t have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, there doesn’t need to be another loaded pressure of fulfilling that “role” for females.

Recently an article on the website totalfratmove was released titled “Power Ranking The Hottest Sororities In America”. It wasn’t just the writer’s claim that he had spent hours looking through different houses social media’s page judging each and every girl’s physical appearance, or him stating “after diving into a pool of pure sex” that were the only things that were seriously f****d up about his article, it was the amount of times that I saw the article being shared on the walls of sorority girls on Facebook that really struck a core.

Sharing anything on your social media page automatically reflects upon the values on how you want others to perceive you. As a female that is not in the greek system, I felt personally offended by not only just the article, but by the fact that it was shared by females. The promotion of the superficial opinions of a MALE on again, a SISTERHOOD is beyond twisted. I don’t identify myself as a fiery passionate so called “nazi-feminist," but I do believe that women have the responsibility to continuously further their rights and place in society. And this ideal can only be achieved if women realize that they DESERVE their right to have power and be independent. Transferring that power and autonomy to the opposite sex by marketing and praising the opinion of some random guy completely goes against the continuous efforts of advocates who are fighting for the rights of females. Sharing articles that promote the validation of women through physical attributes completely negates the notion that women are substantial and deserving beings. And to be proud of that ideal? To be proud of the fact that your pride comes from not just the judgement of a male, but the a way a male looks at females from a point of sexual power!? What needs to be addressed is that it’s the build up of these micro-aggressive posts that eventually lead to a regression rather than progression.

So what’s the next step? Maybe the next time you hear someone saying that “that house sucks” or “they are bottom tier”, you ask them from what basis they are making that claim from. Or more importantly, what the point is of even making that comment? Let’s try to focus on our attention on something that’s actually relevant and doesn’t make people feel like shit about themselves. So, I encourage you to not just respect yourself but respect others for what they offer as humans rather than what the “accepted” expectation is.