If you've read my article titled " Why I'm Proud To Be A Kappa Delta," then you know how much love I have for my sorority, but it goes beyond Kappa Delta; I love sorority life and all that it has to offer not solely for my benefit, but for the community.
Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge regarding the histories and values behind sororities has caused GDIs (God-Damn Independents) to have a negative view of these organizations. Even worse, many of these stereotypes attack our personalities and character. As a former GDI-turned-sorority-woman, having been on both sides, I am here to shut down these stereotypes and shed light on the values sorority women share, regardless of the letters we wear.
1. We're all blonde.
I don't even need to say anything about this one. I'll just show you how wrong you are.
2. We're all rich and have our parents pay our dues.
Honey, if this were true, I wouldn't be working 50+ hours a week, and neither would more than half of my friends in my chapter. My big is the hardest working person I know and is always working at LEAST 40 hours each week. Many of my friends, like me, have multiple jobs over the summer to afford dues and other expenses throughout the school year. We are hard working women who don't rely on others to pay for our dues.
3. We're dumb.
No, no, no! This stereotype is absolutely ridiculous. Every sorority has a GPA minimum in order to maintain membership within the organization. Each chapter gets to decide what that GPA is, but most range from anywhere between a 2.5 and a 3.0 GPA. If a member does not meet this requirement, they are put on academic probation and have some of their privileges as a sorority member taken away from them until their grades reach the minimum requirements again. Not only that, but members of sororities always have study buddies and cheerleaders to keep them going! I'll tell you, this is a lovely perk when all you want to do is lay in bed and watch Netflix all day.
4. We're all partiers.
See that little picture in the bottom right-hand corner? Yeah, that's a group of sorority girls on a daily basis. Sororities are no different from the rest of your college's campus- some girls like to party, some only go out on occasion, some like to hang out with friends on weekends outside of the party scene, and some (me) like to spend some QT with their bed and Netflix account... and pizza... and chicken... and french fries... and milkshakes... and not the gym... oops.
5. We only hang out with people within our sororities/Greek life.
Some of my best, best friends on this earth are not involved in Greek life. Greek affiliation doesn't mean ANYTHING to us. I can assure you that sorority women look for what's inside your heart, not what letters you wear on top of it.
There are a multitude of stereotypes that I chose not to even get into in this article, but I figured I would start with the basics. GDIs, this article was for you, and I hope you take it to heart. While I realize that stereotypes against sororities isn't the most pressing issue in our society, I take offense to people putting negative stereotypes on women, especially other women. Ladies, let's stop looking at our differences and start supporting each other, regardless of whether or not we went Greek or not. We're all human and we all deserve love, support, and respect. Sending out positive vibes, loves. Xoxo
