Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are at it again with their new hit TV show "Scream Queens." If you didn't watch the star-studded season premiere, clad with the likes of Emma Roberts, Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Keke Palmer and Lea Michele, do you even watch TV? While this show was gruesome, hilarious, confusing, and quirky, there was also something else I noticed: the horrible impression that it gives of Greek life and sororities everywhere. For all of its humor and wit, this show makes us look really, really bad. A show about someone killing off bitchy sorority girls is nothing new, but "Scream Queens" hit just a little too close to home in a few aspects.
As a member of Greek life, I'm not naive to the way society often views our culture and stereotypes us. I even enjoy the shows and movies that tend to make fun of us, and I definitely enjoyed "Scream Queens" and will continue to watch it. However, while sitting in the living room of my sorority house and watching the premiere with my sisters, we couldn't help but grimace, cringe, and even hide our faces at some of the portrayals in this show and the fact that there are people out there who truly believe in these stereotypes. I found myself to be slightly offended by a few of the portrayals brought up in the show, and felt that, as a member of the Greek life community, they needed to be addressed.
The opening scene of the show takes place in 1995, where a Kappa pledge gives birth during a party. The other members of the house choose to continue partying instead of helping her, and she ends up dying in the house. To me, this was an admonition to girls choosing to party over the safety of their sisters and friends. While yes, sororities are known to have fun and party and drink and all that, we aren't heartless. The safety of our members is the most important aspect of our chapter. The rules and risk management committees that are set in place are there because safety is number one, always. When a sister is too drunk at a party or gets sick, we look out for each other, and she becomes our main priority. I've taken countless girls home who were too drunk, because as the old saying goes, no man (or woman) left behind.
A second major issue I had with the Greek life stereotypes was the recruitment process. The Dean announces that Kappa Kappa Tau will have to accept any member who wants to pledge as part of their punishment for prior broken rules. President Chanel (played by Emma Roberts) absolutely tears into the girls and gives them stereotypical and awful nicknames. If this was what recruitment was really like, I don't know how I ever got a bid! This plays on the stereotype that Sororities only care about their image, what girls look like, and other superficial nonsense. They even discuss their aversion to letting "fatties and ethnics" pledge their house. There is SO much more that goes into the process; in example, almost all houses have GPA requirements and ask for a mini resume of activities, because we care about taking in girls who are involved and care about things like community service.
Now, I know you've heard it all before, but Greek life means so much more than looking cool and partying, so don't let a show like this give off the wrong impression about who we are and what we stand for. We don't pay for our friends, we pay to be part of a bond that lasts a lifetime and a legacy of sisterhood. As someone who is friends with our president (who is nothing like Chanel), she knows our names, doesn't treat us like her minions, and is looking out for the betterment and safety of our chapter.
Don't let a show like this influence how you see the Greek life community, it's so important to remember that it's satire and the majority of it is not based in truth, but prejudice and years of stereotypes. As a sorority girl, I can acknowledge that it's satire and meant to be humorous; I just hope the rest of the world can as well.
P.S., not all sorority girls like Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
