Reconciling My Feminist Sorority Sister Identity

The progressive climate of the university poses a paradoxical environment for members of the Greek community. Reconciling the identities of being a sorority sister and a self proclaimed feminist requires shifting personal values on my part. Being a sorority sister and considering myself a feminist is problematic in that they are mutually exclusive identities.

A sorority promotes certain characteristics to form an ideal woman. The clash between my two identities revolves around the fact that these characteristics are not necessarily correct. In a sorority, there is the expectation that sisters embody these characteristics. Pledges must meet the sisters’ expectation of an ideal women in order to gain access to sorority benefits. This may involve changing personal values to conform to their expectations. Only when the sisters approve, can access be granted to their social networking, philanthropy events, and sisterhood..

When I enter the Greek community I automatically assimilate to sexist gender roles. I find this very natural. I grew up in a patriarchal home, so the rules are not new to me. Sorority values of an ideal woman are similar to those that my parents fostered at home, explaining my ability to be so comfortable in that role. This also explains my habitual assimilation to gender roles and lack feminist response when I play into them. In my sorority sister identity I recognize the sexism, but it doesn’t trigger the feminist in me until after the fact.

I play at being a sister because I do not always embody their definition of the ideal women. But it is not until I challenge that definition that I consider myself playing my feminist identity.