Check out this video first: "I'm a sorority girl, I like to wear pearrrlsss. Life in dresses, they're the best-est"
So after watching that video, I couldn't help but laugh. The stereotypes in the Barbie Girl parody are strikingly apparent, but that isn't ALL of what sororities are about.
Yes, sorority members have a plethora of dresses and have a good set of pearls handy to dress up letters or badge attire. And yes, fraternity members love their brotherhood "bromance" and probably love their beer pong too- but that doesn't mean that everything is negative of Greeks. It sounds like normal college life to me!
We are sorority girls in a Barbie world. In society, women are told to dress and act a certain way and that applies to Greeks too. We get EXTRA criticized and harped on by the fact that people think we are fake and all look the same.
Most people think we are Barbie prototypes, but what would Barbie's body be like if she were a real person? We'd all look like this! Now I know that would never be possible, nor do we want our friends looking like that, but I thought it was interesting anyway!
We are essentially sorority barbies on the shelf of sisterhood waiting to be picked up and go somewhere with our lives. They even ACTUALLY made a sorority barbie in honor of the National Pan-Hellenic Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA).
We do spend a lot of time together and we all have 18 of the same shirts, but we don't all look the same nor are we the same on the inside. We have different majors, interests, taste in guys, music preferences, body types, skin colors, fashion sense, work experiences... (you get the point).
Next time you refer to a sorority member as a Barbie girl, please think twice. Barbie is only (and has only ever been) whatever personality and attitude the "owner" has come up with for her. Some sorority members are indeed ditzy, materialistic, blonde and fake tan, but so are MANY other people out there who aren't in a sorority. And it is not the sorority that made them that way!
What a wonderfully written post! I know TONS of "Barbie" personalities that don't even know what a sorority is, LOL.
ReplyDeleteSororities have a lot of stereotypes to overcome, and being a military wife (of an officer no less) I face a lot of the same challenges! Even when you're part of a group, seeing the individual is SO important!
I look forward to learning more about Greek Life...you've broached some great topics! :)
I think this blog is a fabulous idea!! It provides a lot of insight to those in Greek life and those who are not. I will be sure to pass this along! :)
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