It has been three weeks since I stumbled across the #ActualSororityMove campaign. If you haven't heard yet, this movement was started by the Kappa Zeta chapter of Sigma Kappa at Elon University. Their goal is to the denounce negative stereotypes of sorority women, opting instead to celebrate the differences and diversity among their sisters. They specifically target Total Sorority Move, a website that published essays and images satirizing sorority women.
The campaign originally took the form of a Facebook album comprised images of their sisters holding a poster inscribed with “My #ActualSororityMove,” each image captioned with an explanation of how they defy sorority stereotypes.
"Sorority girls are suppose to be a size 0, but I am large and in charge #ActualSororityMove."
"I write molecules more than my monogram #ActualSororityMove."
"Sorority girls are supposed to like Lily Pulitzer and Vineyard Vines. I like dirty converse and ripped jeans #ActualSororityMove."
"Total Sorority Move tells us sorority girls are superficial but the most meaningful conversation that I've had in college have been with my sisters #ActualSororityMove. "
I’ve since done my fair share of research on this campaign. I’ve explored Kappa Zeta’s original album, mission statement, Total Sorority Move’s response and countless online opinions from bloggers like me. Some praise Kappa Zeta for their candor and strength, others think they are taking Total Sorority Move and sorority stereotypes way too seriously. Regardless of which side you support, I feel that focusing on either side misses the movement’s focus.
Total Sorority Move is not the sole enemy here. As they said in their response to the campaign, "Our brand of humor did not create a stereotype. We made fun of an existing one. " And they're right. So in response to this campaign, I do not want to bash Total Sorority Move in its entirety, or even argue about whether Kappa Zeta is right or overstepping their boundaries. What I want to do is continue to conversation that this movement has brought to the forefront of our news feeds: the inaccuracy of the stereotypical “sorority girl."
So here we go:
I understand that sororities can perpetrate these stereotypes. We hold date functions and mixers. We wear tons of apparel decorated with our letters. We post an enormous volume of pictures about our sisterly love. But these “stereotypes” are not specific to sorority girls; they are characteristic of any club or group of friends. Tons of clubs hold date functions and wear their own t-shirts, and any friend group will post pictures of themselves. To put a negative label on these “stereotypes” when sorority girls do them is wrong and unfair.
Secondly, these Greek life stereotypes are just that: stereotypes. Just because someone joins a sorority does not mean they automatically drink six nights a week and bleach their hair blonde. I have sisters who don’t drink at all, and just in my pledge class, there are more redheads than blondes. For any stereotype you can dream up, I'm sure I can think of how my sisters and I defy it.
Furthermore, why does a girl who joins a sorority automatically become defined by the stereotype of a “sorority girl” instead by any of the other organizations she is involved in? Nearly all of my sisters participate in a wide range of extracurricular activities in addition to our sorority. I have sisters who have traveled to Nicaragua to provide medical care to others who need it. I have sisters leading clubs that fight for minority rights and substance abuse prevention. I have sisters devoting their college years to ROTC and Student Council. Their sorority is another extracurricular activity added to a long list of interests.
Just as sorority life is not the sole factor that defines my sisters, it is not the sole factor that defines me. I write for Odyssey. I volunteer with Madison House. I spend hours each day studying in the library. I have dreams that I will one day achieve and friends who I care about. In addition to all these things define me, I also just so happen to have joined a sorority.
So, in conjunction with Kappa Zeta’s #ActualSororityMove goal, I bring up this proposition: why have stereotypes at all? A pledge class on bid day does not necessarily have any overarching similarities that can be summed up in a few images or ideas; it is instead a diverse collection of individual girls, each eager to gain over 150 new friends. Honestly, it may be more difficult to establish an accurate generalization about a sorority than any club, because they do not necessarily rally around any single common interest.
As a member of Sigma Kappa’s chapter at the University of Virginia, I am extremely proud of my sisters at Elon University. In support their powerful movement, here is my #ActualSororityMove: sorority girls are supposed to be ditzy, but I started writing to supplement my future English major.
