Greek life at USC encourages gender stereotypes

USC has one of the most thriving Greek communities in the country. Yet, as a whole, Greek communities across the nation widen the gender binary by adhering to their traditional customs and culture. In order to make the university a more inclusive and accepting environment, the greek community has to expand their ways and let go of their old cultural stereotypes.

Hair flipping. Song chanting. Beer die. Wild nights. Proud letters. Decades of tradition. All happening at the social heart of the University of Southern California. A stereotypically conservative school, USC is both infamous and famous for the world-renown 28th Street, cherished by its students as “The Row.”

The largest and most beautiful sorority mansions and wild, party-throwing fraternity houses lie on this street in the middle of USC’s playground, South Central Los Angeles. Decades of traditions, some beginning as early as the late nineteenth century, belong to each house, forming an entire culture of its own on the Row. Along with some of the most attractive males, some of the most stunning women of USC take part of Greek life as well as some of the most academically scholarly.

Slender, blonde, tan, and beautiful, these women are easy on the eyes to the gentlemen of the fellow fraternities. Sororities and fraternities not only at USC share a mutual relationship that favors those who are more appealing to their stereotypical concepts of the ideal sorority woman and fraternity man, perpetuating gender roles that unfairly define the USC community and Greek life nationally.

On the typical Thursday and Friday nights of the week, fraternity houses throw massive parties, inviting girls from all across the city to join. A ratio of ten to one sometimes, a sea of women dressed to whatever theme for the night dance around with drinks in their hands. Girls come to fraternity parties wearing anything but clothes (a theme for a party just a few weeks ago) and the men in fraternities play beer drinking games on their front lawns the next morning. As a girl leaves a frat the next day wearing a big t-shirt and hair pulled up, why must she start the “walk of shame” while her counterpart  is congratulated and can keep playing his beer games?

It’s because each gender has their own set regulations to as a community. Greek women are encouraged to be feminine, classy and respectable to the standards of beauty and academia. The men of the Greek community are encouraged to pursue heteronormative promiscuity, large and frequent alcohol consumption, and ideal physical stature.

This leaves little room to those who are different or nonconformist to these stereotypes, ultimately driving the gender binary even farther and farther apart. It leaves out entire groups of people who wants to take part in the brotherhoods and sisterhoods the community offers. These bonds should not have a list of criteria to be met with as they currently are with standards of class and beauty.

Greek communities lays their very foundations on the gender binary. Each function, sororities and fraternities, have its own class: girls rush sororities and boys rush fraternities. Due to years of tradition, there are no gray areas and as a result, gender norms are adhered to strongly. There is a level of interdependence between the two categories of Greek life: the sororities each fraternity mixes with dependence on the level of success of both houses usually resulting in equal levels of popularity, attractiveness, and reputation, creating this “tier” that is an unspoken yet understood hierarchy.

Lately, Greek rows across the nation are taking initiative and are closing these gender binaries and eliminating gender norms and inviting students with all types of sexual orientation and gender affiliation. Women should be able to be viewed outside of the hair-flipping, chant-singing, designer clad girls that show-case themselves during recruitment week. These differences in and adhering to gender roles isolate the Greek community from the rest of the student body of USC and limit the inclusion of those who do not “qualify” to meet these outdated and rigid standards, causing a separation between the Greek and non-Greek communities. The essential closing of the gender binary and termination of the gender norms greek life traditionally represents ties Greek communities to make their university culture a welcoming and inclusive balance that represents modern social justice.

The ideals of masculine fraternities and feminine sororities is an ideal of the past. Greek like shapes the gender identity of its members by having clear-cut models and goals implemented into their minds since the first introduction. During rush, sororities have all their members in clean feminine looks, all matching with perfect hair, teeth, and makeup. Beauty and maintenance is held to a high standard as so is socioeconomic and popularity rankings. Everyone wants to be the “top” yet that is far from the reality of real life. In the real world, success is based on hard work ethic, perseverance, and passion, not how nice a manicure is.

The gender constrictions were built in the 19th and 20th centuries as a way to symbolize the era where men courted women and women were considered gentle, domestic, petite figures. With modern times, demands modern change. Here at USC, women are supposed to be just that, fit the role of a woman. What does that even mean anymore? Women and men can be free to be whoever their heart tells them to be. No gender stereotyping and constraints should ever prevent people from fulfilling their full potential of becoming who they feel they are on the inside. It is time the Greek community catches up to the modern era and sees its lifestyle through a new lens.

A Greek woman myself, I have seen the conformity to gender roles in action. Greek women have higher GPAs, on average, than the average non-sorority affiliated woman at USC, yet they are placed in severe gender role restriction whether they realize or not. The world of Greek life sets the feminist movement back decades. Women should be encouraged to pursue their own accomplishments and focus on individualization that can better them for careers and self-respect instead of focusing on the tacit standards of the Greek community. The matter of a person should not outweigh the exterior means for criteria of fit.

Most chapters have their roots in the early 19th century and many of the values and traditions are the same to preserve tradition but as gender fluidity and roles are evolving to fit the modern era, these values and traditions should do the same. Yet there is no reason not to include those who do not fit the 19th century view of a sorority woman because simply, we do not live in that time anymore. We live in a beautiful era where women and men have more control over their lives than ever. Where everyone can live the way they are born to. Where people never have to hide or be ashamed of who they are.

Greek communities need to reflect these modern justices rather than hide under their traditionalist beliefs.