Sigma Phi Beta is a Fraternity for men who are queer or allied - the only Greek organization of its kind at IU. 

Being the only organization of this nature brings with it a lot of assumptions about what we are and how we function. While some of these may be correct, many are based mostly on stereotypes and are wildly inaccurate. Some of the most common misconceptions we encounter are about the type of people in our organization or how we interact with one another.

These are just a few of the assumptions I tend to hear almost every time I talk to someone about Sigma Phi Beta. 

1. We must have copious amounts of sex with each other. There are far fewer intra-fraternity relationships than you might expect. It has happened in the past, and brothers have even gone on to get married, but it is far from the norm within our group. We function more as a family than anything else, meaning dating between brothers is often the last thing on our minds. I look at my brothers as just that: brothers. Our social gatherings consist of great conversations and bonding rather than the scandalous meetings that most people picture when they hear about us. 

2. We are all stereotypical gay men. Many seem to think that we are a group of sassy gay men who talk only of Lady Gaga and this week's hottest fashion trends. We do, in fact, have brothers who adore Lady Gaga and brothers who put a lot of emphasis on clothing and appearance, but this in no way defines our fraternity as a whole. We have people that fall into various other tropes: guys who might be considered "bros", social justice activists, theater people, people who hate musical theater, video game enthusiasts and even people that have gone on to join the military. Being queer is the characteristic that unites us rather than defines us. 

3. We are all interior design or theater majors.  Again, we do have men to which this may apply, but a majority of our members stray from this. We have brothers majoring in things such as informatics, psychology, biology, merchandising and communications. Our fields of study do not fit one standard mold but are as diverse as the members who make up our organization. 

In the end, Sigma Phi Beta doesn't mean hyper-sexual, sassy theater majors. Being part of our organization means having a group of guys who understand and support you, regardless of the exceedingly different personalities and interests we all embody.