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Inside Greek U.: Fraternities, Sororities, and the Pursuit of Pleasure, Power and Prestige
Popular culture portrays college Greek organizations as a training ground for malevolent young aristocrats. Films such as Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds, Old School, and Legally Blonde reinforce this stereotype, but they fail to depict the enduring influence of these organizations on their members.
Inside Greek U. provides an in-depth investigation of how fraternities and sororities bolster traditional, and potentially damaging, definitions of gender and sexuality. Using evidence gathered in hundreds of focus group sessions and personal interviews, as well as his years of experience as a faculty advisor to Greek organizations, Alan D. DeSantis offers unprecedented access to the world of fraternities and sororities. DeSantis, himself once a member of a fraternity, shows the profoundly limited gender roles available to Greeks: "real men" are taught to be unemotional, sexually promiscuous, and violent; "nice girls," to be nurturing, domestic, and pure. These rigid formulations often lead to destructive attitudes and behaviors, such as eating disorders, date rape, sexual misconduct, and homophobia.
Inside Greek U. shows that the Greek experience does not end on graduation day, but that these narrow definitions of gender and sexuality impede students' intellectual and emotional development and limit their range of choices long after graduation. Ten percent of all college students join a Greek organization, and many of the nation's business and political leaders are former members.
DeSantis acknowledges that thousands of students join Greek organizations each year in search of meaning, acceptance, friendship, and engagement, and he illuminates the pressures and challenges that contemporary college students face. Inside Greek U. demonstrates how deeply Greek organizations influence their members and suggests how, with reform the worst excesses of the system, fraternities and sororities could serve as a positive influence on individuals and campus life.
Inside Greek U. provides an in-depth investigation of how fraternities and sororities bolster traditional, and potentially damaging, definitions of gender and sexuality. Using evidence gathered in hundreds of focus group sessions and personal interviews, as well as his years of experience as a faculty advisor to Greek organizations, Alan D. DeSantis offers unprecedented access to the world of fraternities and sororities. DeSantis, himself once a member of a fraternity, shows the profoundly limited gender roles available to Greeks: "real men" are taught to be unemotional, sexually promiscuous, and violent; "nice girls," to be nurturing, domestic, and pure. These rigid formulations often lead to destructive attitudes and behaviors, such as eating disorders, date rape, sexual misconduct, and homophobia.
Inside Greek U. shows that the Greek experience does not end on graduation day, but that these narrow definitions of gender and sexuality impede students' intellectual and emotional development and limit their range of choices long after graduation. Ten percent of all college students join a Greek organization, and many of the nation's business and political leaders are former members.
DeSantis acknowledges that thousands of students join Greek organizations each year in search of meaning, acceptance, friendship, and engagement, and he illuminates the pressures and challenges that contemporary college students face. Inside Greek U. demonstrates how deeply Greek organizations influence their members and suggests how, with reform the worst excesses of the system, fraternities and sororities could serve as a positive influence on individuals and campus life.
- GenresNonfictionEducation
267 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 13, 2008
A book that I had hoped to be full of research and facts on gender roles in fraternities and sororities ended up mostly full of anecdotal garbage from one school. While DeSantis acknowledges that his book only applies to one school (which is quite obviously the University of Kentucky), this doesn't stop him from attempting to apply his findings to Greek Life at large on a national scale. His personal interviews are certainly eye-opening, but for him to attempt to claim that they are indicative of the views of Greeks at college campuses across the country is, quite frankly, complete bullshit.
DeSantis should try talking to students at more than one school or, heaven forbid, outside organizations he deemed to be popular. Interviewing more students from groups outside the "elite" status that he bestowed, and especially ones in NPHC and other minority organizations, would certainly add to the heft of his argument.
By all means, there should be more research on Greek Life. Unfortunately, when what is written is as exploitative and sensationalist as this drivel, it creates little clout within the community. What a complete waste of time.
DeSantis should try talking to students at more than one school or, heaven forbid, outside organizations he deemed to be popular. Interviewing more students from groups outside the "elite" status that he bestowed, and especially ones in NPHC and other minority organizations, would certainly add to the heft of his argument.
By all means, there should be more research on Greek Life. Unfortunately, when what is written is as exploitative and sensationalist as this drivel, it creates little clout within the community. What a complete waste of time.
March 11, 2011
This sounds bad, but I have to say it. I will never understand what leads people in other fields to think having a rambling discussion of Judith Butler and pretending to do grounded theory makes their work sociology. It doesn't. You need to stop. Your degree is in communications, but the bigger issue is that you don't know what you're talking about.
That said, sociological pretensions aside, this book was almost okay. DeSantis has reasonably interesting data from his focus groups and interviews (which reminds me -- a fifteen-minute interview does not count as an interview in my book). The problem here though is his personal investment in the project, and more broadly in the Greek system, and his unwillingness to really challenge anything. In the words of many a Miami Vice episode, he has gone so far under he doesn't know which way is up. It's one thing to say "fag" in a quote from an interviewee; it's well another to use it yourself as if it's an unproblematic term.
This book suffers quite a bit from what I think of as the Donna Gaines Problem, since it was something I first really became aware of in Teenage Wasteland: Suburbia's Dead End Kids. The Donna Gaines Problem is when qualitative researchers can't get over how cool they seem to be, how "insider" their status is with respect to their respondents, and generally how they perceived themselves as not having age or status differences from their subjects. This is generally a problem with people who study teenagers and college students. Sorry guys -- you're old, the kids know you're old, and particularly if you are a faculty member at their institution, there's a power differential that isn't going to be collapsed even if you are the same gender, race, ethnicity, or social class.
Particularly problematic for me was his constant switching back and forth between taking what his respondents' said at face value and second-guessing them. This was especially jarring in his discussion of female displays of sexuality for men (e.g. "fake lesbians"). He basically decides that since these sorority girls say it's fun, then it is completely harmless and fun. I mean gosh, it doesn't, I don't know, marginalize actual lesbians, or uphold gender inequality, or anything like that if they say it's fun, right?
DeSantis' personal litmus test appears to be "is this activity harming the person directly participating in it?" So he comes down hard on things like steroid use and eating disorders, but he doesn't really consider these (or other issues) in a more global way, either in the context of the university or in the wider world.
That said, sociological pretensions aside, this book was almost okay. DeSantis has reasonably interesting data from his focus groups and interviews (which reminds me -- a fifteen-minute interview does not count as an interview in my book). The problem here though is his personal investment in the project, and more broadly in the Greek system, and his unwillingness to really challenge anything. In the words of many a Miami Vice episode, he has gone so far under he doesn't know which way is up. It's one thing to say "fag" in a quote from an interviewee; it's well another to use it yourself as if it's an unproblematic term.
This book suffers quite a bit from what I think of as the Donna Gaines Problem, since it was something I first really became aware of in Teenage Wasteland: Suburbia's Dead End Kids. The Donna Gaines Problem is when qualitative researchers can't get over how cool they seem to be, how "insider" their status is with respect to their respondents, and generally how they perceived themselves as not having age or status differences from their subjects. This is generally a problem with people who study teenagers and college students. Sorry guys -- you're old, the kids know you're old, and particularly if you are a faculty member at their institution, there's a power differential that isn't going to be collapsed even if you are the same gender, race, ethnicity, or social class.
Particularly problematic for me was his constant switching back and forth between taking what his respondents' said at face value and second-guessing them. This was especially jarring in his discussion of female displays of sexuality for men (e.g. "fake lesbians"). He basically decides that since these sorority girls say it's fun, then it is completely harmless and fun. I mean gosh, it doesn't, I don't know, marginalize actual lesbians, or uphold gender inequality, or anything like that if they say it's fun, right?
DeSantis' personal litmus test appears to be "is this activity harming the person directly participating in it?" So he comes down hard on things like steroid use and eating disorders, but he doesn't really consider these (or other issues) in a more global way, either in the context of the university or in the wider world.
September 24, 2018
Certainly, it is of less bitter-tasting fruit to merely observe the spirited corruption, duplicitous caution, and oft-irrational affectations regarding Greek life and culture on American college campuses than it is to step in and facilitate sweeping institutional change. Nevertheless, there is value in providing a lens through which the unencumbered might yet glance such squirrely behaviors and ideologies, if not to enlighten those watching from the windows, then, perhaps, to frustrate them. INSIDE GREEK U is a necessary book full of inconvenient and ugly facts, the most stunning of which is that it remains a woefully incomplete articulation of social responsibility incumbent upon contemporary social fraternity/sorority life.
The author's approach to deconstructing the empire of traditions that govern fraternities and sororities is an interesting one: he finagles his privilege as a fair-skinned male with decades of work with these organizations to pry open the intellectual and cultural privacies at the foundation of Greek life. DeSantis uses a social-psychological approach, leaning heavily on in-person interviews and strategic phrasing to formulate an understanding of how early 21st century college students at elite fraternities and sororities view themselves and their relationships.
Gender is a salient pinprick. As such, addressing the dangerous fundamentals of group consciousness, the quickening pace of classicism, and the uneasy and false security of modern dynamics of sexual consent all require a steady hand for notetaking. INSIDE GREEK U touches upon these subjects to varying degrees. Not all of which are emphatically comparable -- the author converses with men and women separately, and with notably different intensity. But DeSantis' efforts are genuine. For example, when discussing what young women deem behavior that transgresses the definition of "virginal," an initially casual interrogation leads to the women to discussing, unprompted, the double-standard surrounding male promiscuity. Unmentioned is the inclination of those authority figures who knowingly shift the boundaries of what is permissible for these women, but readers learn along with DeSantis that social expectations are more malleable than students are willing to acknowledge, and yet they suffer for it all the same.
The author's coverage of hazing is unremarkable. Best gleaned from the text is not what DeSantis admits to being problematic (i.e., cultish adoration; homophobia; the prominent use of fear, human ignorance, ideological plasticity, and physical threats), but rather what he does not. Absent from the author's charge against the ritualizing of bad behavior is an honest, extended, and fierce criticism of the notion that without humiliation or forced sacrifice, one's acceptance into the club is forfeit. The idea that respect is legitimately earned through these means is absurd; it is an ugly credo and a complete façade. Perhaps DeSantis fears invoking the reality that without hazing, fraternities would die a slow and agonizing death. But the truth is that pledging and initiation practices, however gendered and however severe, themselves engender a coercive, cultural falseness; it is an artificial fealty, this fostering of superficial emotional connections, rituals that represent an invalid enmeshing of otherwise pragmatically unbreakable sensibilities (i.e., Of what use are loyalty, self-sacrifice, support and a sense of longing, and status, if conjured through irresponsible and circumstantial means?). It is an insubstantial amassing of false bonds. It is, in a word, bullshit.
INSIDE GREEK U doesn't really cross that divide. The book leans more heavily on the toxic dogma of contemporary brotherhood and the obstreperous kindness that overlaps and undermines contemporary sisterhood. And to that end, Greek life, it seems, is the worst kind of game: building community and social capital at the expense of independent thought, freedom of expression, and organic relational affection/attraction. DeSantis does a commendable job of asking these young men and women why they tolerate the anxieties (and contradictions) of house life when it's clear their own grasp of what is possible is just barely cresting the dam of youth. What is to be gained, in the long run, from performative gender? Sadly, and regrettably, the author never really acquires a decent answer.
On the plus side, the book does its best work when assessing and deliberating the consequences of gender stratification. Specifically, for men: how and why infidelity supersedes "gentlemanly behavior"; why the kindness and sincerity required to forget a brother's flaws are never extended to other men (much less to women); and concerning male aggression, how men avoid meaningful emotional interactions at a time in their lives when they are most accessible to them. The dreaded ego of entitlement runs deep in these men.
In addition, for women, analysis of gender stratification is likewise potable: ideal femininity and its contradictions with the demands of in-group competition; why "Nice girls don't get angry. Anger is for men" (p. 102); and why the boundaries of appropriate/inappropriate behavior are invented for these women, and why they somehow consistently refuse to demand more freedom. Vocal, critical thought is conflated with argumentativeness, and is thereby equated to being disagreeable and so preoccupies the realm of the "unfeminine." Beyond the obvious constraints sororities apply to accepting women of color, curvy women, or women of a different ethnic background, the dutiful stunting of intellectual, emotional, and cultural availability runs just as deep among the women as it does among the men.
INSIDE GREEK U is deeply informative, but it is also, at times, exceedingly frustrating. Notable omissions include the long-term and wide-ranging consequences of prevailing ignorance, particularly among the white elite as the emerge into greater society; any substantive conversation about lesbian or queer women, and opinions concerning their evolution and survival among sororal ideologues; similarly, the homoerotic nature of performative gender, and how it intensifies, however ironically, once an institution denies it credibility; and most prescient of all, social coercion: that is to say, the insipid overvaluing of the new, functional dependency of social clubs like fraternities and sororities, thereby generating an illusion of choice, power, and justice, perpetuating its disorienting expectations for future generations to consume without concern for individuality, or empathy for individual well-being.
The author's approach to deconstructing the empire of traditions that govern fraternities and sororities is an interesting one: he finagles his privilege as a fair-skinned male with decades of work with these organizations to pry open the intellectual and cultural privacies at the foundation of Greek life. DeSantis uses a social-psychological approach, leaning heavily on in-person interviews and strategic phrasing to formulate an understanding of how early 21st century college students at elite fraternities and sororities view themselves and their relationships.
Gender is a salient pinprick. As such, addressing the dangerous fundamentals of group consciousness, the quickening pace of classicism, and the uneasy and false security of modern dynamics of sexual consent all require a steady hand for notetaking. INSIDE GREEK U touches upon these subjects to varying degrees. Not all of which are emphatically comparable -- the author converses with men and women separately, and with notably different intensity. But DeSantis' efforts are genuine. For example, when discussing what young women deem behavior that transgresses the definition of "virginal," an initially casual interrogation leads to the women to discussing, unprompted, the double-standard surrounding male promiscuity. Unmentioned is the inclination of those authority figures who knowingly shift the boundaries of what is permissible for these women, but readers learn along with DeSantis that social expectations are more malleable than students are willing to acknowledge, and yet they suffer for it all the same.
The author's coverage of hazing is unremarkable. Best gleaned from the text is not what DeSantis admits to being problematic (i.e., cultish adoration; homophobia; the prominent use of fear, human ignorance, ideological plasticity, and physical threats), but rather what he does not. Absent from the author's charge against the ritualizing of bad behavior is an honest, extended, and fierce criticism of the notion that without humiliation or forced sacrifice, one's acceptance into the club is forfeit. The idea that respect is legitimately earned through these means is absurd; it is an ugly credo and a complete façade. Perhaps DeSantis fears invoking the reality that without hazing, fraternities would die a slow and agonizing death. But the truth is that pledging and initiation practices, however gendered and however severe, themselves engender a coercive, cultural falseness; it is an artificial fealty, this fostering of superficial emotional connections, rituals that represent an invalid enmeshing of otherwise pragmatically unbreakable sensibilities (i.e., Of what use are loyalty, self-sacrifice, support and a sense of longing, and status, if conjured through irresponsible and circumstantial means?). It is an insubstantial amassing of false bonds. It is, in a word, bullshit.
INSIDE GREEK U doesn't really cross that divide. The book leans more heavily on the toxic dogma of contemporary brotherhood and the obstreperous kindness that overlaps and undermines contemporary sisterhood. And to that end, Greek life, it seems, is the worst kind of game: building community and social capital at the expense of independent thought, freedom of expression, and organic relational affection/attraction. DeSantis does a commendable job of asking these young men and women why they tolerate the anxieties (and contradictions) of house life when it's clear their own grasp of what is possible is just barely cresting the dam of youth. What is to be gained, in the long run, from performative gender? Sadly, and regrettably, the author never really acquires a decent answer.
On the plus side, the book does its best work when assessing and deliberating the consequences of gender stratification. Specifically, for men: how and why infidelity supersedes "gentlemanly behavior"; why the kindness and sincerity required to forget a brother's flaws are never extended to other men (much less to women); and concerning male aggression, how men avoid meaningful emotional interactions at a time in their lives when they are most accessible to them. The dreaded ego of entitlement runs deep in these men.
In addition, for women, analysis of gender stratification is likewise potable: ideal femininity and its contradictions with the demands of in-group competition; why "Nice girls don't get angry. Anger is for men" (p. 102); and why the boundaries of appropriate/inappropriate behavior are invented for these women, and why they somehow consistently refuse to demand more freedom. Vocal, critical thought is conflated with argumentativeness, and is thereby equated to being disagreeable and so preoccupies the realm of the "unfeminine." Beyond the obvious constraints sororities apply to accepting women of color, curvy women, or women of a different ethnic background, the dutiful stunting of intellectual, emotional, and cultural availability runs just as deep among the women as it does among the men.
INSIDE GREEK U is deeply informative, but it is also, at times, exceedingly frustrating. Notable omissions include the long-term and wide-ranging consequences of prevailing ignorance, particularly among the white elite as the emerge into greater society; any substantive conversation about lesbian or queer women, and opinions concerning their evolution and survival among sororal ideologues; similarly, the homoerotic nature of performative gender, and how it intensifies, however ironically, once an institution denies it credibility; and most prescient of all, social coercion: that is to say, the insipid overvaluing of the new, functional dependency of social clubs like fraternities and sororities, thereby generating an illusion of choice, power, and justice, perpetuating its disorienting expectations for future generations to consume without concern for individuality, or empathy for individual well-being.
January 9, 2008
An excellent book, incisive and sharp. De Santis examines fraternity and sorority culture at "Greek U." (actually the University of Kentucky) as an insider and through a gender lens. It's amazing how destructive Greek culture is to both the participants and to the community at large; between the men fighting, raping and sabotaging each others relationships, and the women having eating disorders and trying to destroy each others' self-esteem, it's hard to believe anyone would want to be a part of that system. He points out one positive aspect for men (male bonding), and not really any for women, but even that only serves to highlight the emotionally bankrupt lives many of them will go on to lead, as they spend their post-college time looking back on the frat as the best years of their life.
At the same time, he does offer a number of ways to engage Greek communities and work with them to improve what is happening, and I think that aspect of the book is invaluable. I'm looking forward to trying to integrate as much as possible into work.
At the same time, he does offer a number of ways to engage Greek communities and work with them to improve what is happening, and I think that aspect of the book is invaluable. I'm looking forward to trying to integrate as much as possible into work.
October 2, 2017
A bunch of white privilege nonsense. My interest in the book was originally piqued after having read Peggy Reeves Sanday's "Fraternity Gang Rape," (highly recommended) but Inside Greek U is nothing but ultra liberal "white privilege" nonsense.
February 27, 2018
I thought this book was about Indiana University due to various comments about the recruitment process. It was frustrating to read opinions positioned as facts, that I drastically disagreed with.
February 18, 2016
Inside Greek U by Alan D. DeSantis explores the inside world of fraternities as well as sororities. Many of the topics covered in the book are the stereotypes in Greek life, such as hazing, drinking, partying, and so on. However, they go into large detail on the gender roles that exist. This book shows that for the most part the members conform to traditional gender roles, but there are many exceptions. For example there are many fraternity members that are concerned about their body image. DeSantis, himself once a member of a fraternity, shows the expected gender roles available to Greeks: "real men" are taught to be unemotional, sexually promiscuous, and violent; "nice girls," to be nurturing, domestic, and pure, but just towards the men in their lives, while they are harsh to other girls in their lives. These rigid formulations often lead to destructive attitudes and behaviors that exist in these societies, such as eating disorders, date rape, sexual misconduct, and homophobia; Inside Greek U tries to unlock the truth behind all the rumors that are associated with fraternities and sororities.
I recommend reading the first one hundred pages of this book, but that is all. The majority of the book just repeats the extreme gender roles that exist in fraternities and sororities and how the majority of women in sororities are just there to do whatever the men in the fraternities want them to do. However I did enjoy the many stories that are shared throughout the book and how the book gave a true feeling for how prevalent the gender roles are and how large of an impact they have on the member while they are in college as well as in the rest of their lives. I felt as if the entire book was about the gender roles that exist in their society, and that he could have gone into more details about the other stereotypes that are associated with fraternities and sororities. My favorite part of this book is that in the interviews there was a large amount of honesty, and I felt as if they weren’t just saying what people wanted to hear, but the truth.
The main issues with the book is that it is very repetitive and DeSantis only looked at one campus in 2007, but he tries to connect it to all universities that associate with Greek Life. Across the nation there is a large variety in the type of behavior that is allowed in sororities and fraternities, and DeSantis tried to connect his one experience to every fraternity and sorority. Also, the majority of the book was very negative toward all parts of Greek Life. The only positive about fraternities and sororities throughout the whole book is that brotherhood is formed in fraternities. I would not recommend this book because it is very repetitive and is not a good representation of all members of this society. Therefore, I give this book two out of five stars.
I recommend reading the first one hundred pages of this book, but that is all. The majority of the book just repeats the extreme gender roles that exist in fraternities and sororities and how the majority of women in sororities are just there to do whatever the men in the fraternities want them to do. However I did enjoy the many stories that are shared throughout the book and how the book gave a true feeling for how prevalent the gender roles are and how large of an impact they have on the member while they are in college as well as in the rest of their lives. I felt as if the entire book was about the gender roles that exist in their society, and that he could have gone into more details about the other stereotypes that are associated with fraternities and sororities. My favorite part of this book is that in the interviews there was a large amount of honesty, and I felt as if they weren’t just saying what people wanted to hear, but the truth.
The main issues with the book is that it is very repetitive and DeSantis only looked at one campus in 2007, but he tries to connect it to all universities that associate with Greek Life. Across the nation there is a large variety in the type of behavior that is allowed in sororities and fraternities, and DeSantis tried to connect his one experience to every fraternity and sorority. Also, the majority of the book was very negative toward all parts of Greek Life. The only positive about fraternities and sororities throughout the whole book is that brotherhood is formed in fraternities. I would not recommend this book because it is very repetitive and is not a good representation of all members of this society. Therefore, I give this book two out of five stars.
July 29, 2011
Confirms stereo-typical views of Greek community, July 7, 2008
Having joined a fraternity in the 1980s and still living in the town where I graduated from college, I thought this book was going to be an interesting read.
Although Desantis did his homework and cites a great deal of supporting research, his final product does nothing more than underscore all the negative public perceptions about the Greek system ... that it IS as shallow as the majority of the "outsider" population perceives, with very, very few exceptions.
Am I surprised with the findings? Yes and no. Yes, I am surprised that the Greek system I embraced twenty years ago has become so superficial and by today's standards, unnecessary. But, no, I am not surprised that today's students exhibit such simple and selfish behavior, combined with a total lack of awareness to the world around them (regardless of the global reach of the internet) ... it is symbolic of the me-first attitude today's youth culture. There is little shock value in Desantis' work, but maybe it's because living in a college town has de-sensitized me to college students' in general or more likely, I've outgrown the idiotic behavior I exhibited myself so long ago.
I think the book would have been a better read had he used actual fraternities and schools (maybe a legal liability decision?). The "Greek U", "John from Alpha fraternity", "Susie from Theta sorority" was too generic an approach to the subject matter ... it was actually a turn-off for me for authenticity reasons; it reads like fiction. The comments/responses/behaviors weren't exclusively Greek-related ... any group of students could have provided the same material covered in this book. In other words, what differentiates the men from "Alpha fraternity" from a group of guys living on the same floor in a dorm or a group of varsity athletes.
This book had potential, but I found it disappointing in that it echoes all the same lame Greek stereotypes. It might have been better to look at how Greek organizations have grown/changed throughout the years to let the reader know that today's generation of Greeks are not symbolic of all Greeks, but more or less a snapshot of today's youth culture. Desantis' work appears to be no more that a conglomeration of Newsweek/Time/Rolling Stone articles on binge-drinking, eating disorders and date rape ... I really expected a lot more.
Having joined a fraternity in the 1980s and still living in the town where I graduated from college, I thought this book was going to be an interesting read.
Although Desantis did his homework and cites a great deal of supporting research, his final product does nothing more than underscore all the negative public perceptions about the Greek system ... that it IS as shallow as the majority of the "outsider" population perceives, with very, very few exceptions.
Am I surprised with the findings? Yes and no. Yes, I am surprised that the Greek system I embraced twenty years ago has become so superficial and by today's standards, unnecessary. But, no, I am not surprised that today's students exhibit such simple and selfish behavior, combined with a total lack of awareness to the world around them (regardless of the global reach of the internet) ... it is symbolic of the me-first attitude today's youth culture. There is little shock value in Desantis' work, but maybe it's because living in a college town has de-sensitized me to college students' in general or more likely, I've outgrown the idiotic behavior I exhibited myself so long ago.
I think the book would have been a better read had he used actual fraternities and schools (maybe a legal liability decision?). The "Greek U", "John from Alpha fraternity", "Susie from Theta sorority" was too generic an approach to the subject matter ... it was actually a turn-off for me for authenticity reasons; it reads like fiction. The comments/responses/behaviors weren't exclusively Greek-related ... any group of students could have provided the same material covered in this book. In other words, what differentiates the men from "Alpha fraternity" from a group of guys living on the same floor in a dorm or a group of varsity athletes.
This book had potential, but I found it disappointing in that it echoes all the same lame Greek stereotypes. It might have been better to look at how Greek organizations have grown/changed throughout the years to let the reader know that today's generation of Greeks are not symbolic of all Greeks, but more or less a snapshot of today's youth culture. Desantis' work appears to be no more that a conglomeration of Newsweek/Time/Rolling Stone articles on binge-drinking, eating disorders and date rape ... I really expected a lot more.
November 20, 2010
This is what happens when a rhetorician thinks they're a sociologist. Here is this Greek Advisor connecting to the students and gaining their trust to get the exact information he wants. He used his position of authority to do this and it makes me feel icky, as a fellow Greek Advisor*. The other issue with this book is that his "study" focuses on a very small portion of "elite" Greek groups on ONE campus in the South, and proceeds to make sweeping statements about Greek Life. Yes, there is truth to many of his statements, but he is really not doing much in the way of critical thinking, or making new observations. Instead he uses 300+ pages (that could be used to do interesting work on the Non-elite and up-and-coming groups) to reiterate much of what we already know. He talks plainly about their clearly racist and heteronormative practices, without vilifying them. It's refreshing. He is honest, and forthcoming and clearly cares about the system and community, but there was nothing groundbreaking or particularly new about any of his conclusions.
*It's important to note that he is clearly not an advisor for his national organization, but for a university as a Faculty Advisor. If he was representing his NHQ this book would not have been written.
*It's important to note that he is clearly not an advisor for his national organization, but for a university as a Faculty Advisor. If he was representing his NHQ this book would not have been written.
October 7, 2015
p3 - "In the eighteenth & nineteenth centuries, when fraternities first appeared on American college campuses, ancient Greek studies were academically in vogue."
p69 - "Fraternities sponsor activities, usually under the guise of a fund-raiser, aimed at getting women to perform for them."
p91 - "The Chis prefer the more overtly aggressive activity of basement boxing or wrestling to test each other's mettle. Brotherhood events..."
p120 - "ORT or operation remove tool"
p121 - "...three castes: the elites, the aspirers, and the strugglers."
p148 - "Re: Fashion in the house. It is part of our look. We have a certain look."
p166 - "The quantity and quality of talking at fraternity houses is integral to the cultivation of brotherhood. These men are afforded four or five uninterrupted years of talking time in a safe, nonjudgmental, familial, & nurturing environment."
p171 - "Take pledging away and fraternities will die"
p176 - "He should be physically attractive, a gentleman and a romantic, not too emotional, a good father and provider, and macho"
Copy pages 219, 224, 227, 228, & 230
p69 - "Fraternities sponsor activities, usually under the guise of a fund-raiser, aimed at getting women to perform for them."
p91 - "The Chis prefer the more overtly aggressive activity of basement boxing or wrestling to test each other's mettle. Brotherhood events..."
p120 - "ORT or operation remove tool"
p121 - "...three castes: the elites, the aspirers, and the strugglers."
p148 - "Re: Fashion in the house. It is part of our look. We have a certain look."
p166 - "The quantity and quality of talking at fraternity houses is integral to the cultivation of brotherhood. These men are afforded four or five uninterrupted years of talking time in a safe, nonjudgmental, familial, & nurturing environment."
p171 - "Take pledging away and fraternities will die"
p176 - "He should be physically attractive, a gentleman and a romantic, not too emotional, a good father and provider, and macho"
Copy pages 219, 224, 227, 228, & 230
May 15, 2013
Long story short: elite sororities and fraternities reaffirm traditional gender roles/traits (most noticeably through the rush process by selecting those individuals already exhibiting traditional gender traits). Men are promiscuous, women chaste. Women are interdependent, men are independent. Men are big and strong, women are small and thin. Women are passive, men are aggressive and both women and women do some pretty terrible things to themselves and others to actualize these roles... But not always!!! Sometimes guys are sensitive and girls are aggressive!
I think the most interesting point made was in regards to racism. One of the guys interviewed stated that they don't rush black guys, because the best sororities wouldn't be willing to party with them. Probably some truth to that. But the book gets old after about 40 pages.
I think the most interesting point made was in regards to racism. One of the guys interviewed stated that they don't rush black guys, because the best sororities wouldn't be willing to party with them. Probably some truth to that. But the book gets old after about 40 pages.
January 6, 2015
I would have liked to have seen some more comprehensive data throughout this book. I feel like there are a lot of things that ring true within the book, but all focused on the negative aspects. A better balance may be called for in a second edition.
I would also have appreciated an expansion of diversity. Admittedly, this is focused on predominately white heterosexual affiliated individuals. Some conversation about NPHC and MGC organizations would have helped to round out this book better.
I would also have appreciated an expansion of diversity. Admittedly, this is focused on predominately white heterosexual affiliated individuals. Some conversation about NPHC and MGC organizations would have helped to round out this book better.
December 14, 2011
Nothing of value was learned.
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