What About the Greek Life?

California sorority

Southern sorority

As one sorority member said, "I think a lot of it (dress and appearance expectations) is regional. Being that my little sister just pledged to be an Alpha Phi at Chapman University, I've heard nothing but nonstop stories about the parties, girls, events etc. I think that sororities especially are one of the cliquest aspects of going to college, that is if you get involved with one. Because these interviews were conducted in 1993, I thought that most of data was false or rigged.
So I thought I would explain some friends of mine and how I agree with the statement above that dress is completely regional. An old roommate of mine who used to attend Southern Mississippi State would always tell me how different people dressed for school in California. I always thought this was a joke till I actually asked her why she thought this. She followed to tell me that in Mississippi, all the girls in college wore Nike running shorts, oversized Ralph Lauren tshirts, running shoes and baseball caps to everything. I thought this was hilarious and at first thought she was joking. She wasn't because she gave me pictures to prove it. And even the boys wore their above the knee khakis, bright colored polos, loafers and baseball caps.
Yet after seeing my sister and hearing stories from friends in sororities in California, I came to the conclusion that they couldn't be more polar opposite. Here is California sorority girls especially make sure that they look in tip-top shape for classes, meetings, parties and more. And the boys just dress to always be, "playing it cool."It's almost like these people lived on different planets. -Kaitlin

Sorority Members: Physically Comfortable

Sorority Members: Mentally Comfortable

Part of the article, "It's All Greek to Me: Sorority Members and Identity Talk," explains that sorority girls do care a great deal about comfort. While in one instance, the comfort refers to physical comfort in dress, other reports discuss psychological comfort. One girl states, "...I can't understand why somebody would get up at seven in the morning every day to make themselves look like that. I guess that is more of a lifestyle choice. I prefer sleeping" (86). This sorority member has been termed "granola" because she would rather be physically comfortable than take extra time to wear clothing, accessories, or make-up that she deems uncomfortable. On the other hand, the text describes situations in which girls would rather feel more mentally comfortable. For example, one girl claims, "I feel, in classes, the nicer I look, the better I feel" (86). I would have to agree with this statement. I always feel great when I look great, because then I am more comfortable with speaking and having attention on myself. When it is the opposite and I think I don't look my best, I often feel uncomfortable or apprehensive; moreover, this is all psychological comfort, and the way it plays a part in dress. There is a movie, The House Bunny, that somewhat describes the difference in physical and mental comfort by portraying a transformation in appearance for a group of sorority girls. They are physically comfortable, but missing any sort of psychological ease until their appearances get made over. This depicts a few differences in comfort.  -Mallory

While sorority members can have individual tastes when it come to expressing themselves within their organization, the article "It's All Greek to Me" shows one commonality is that of proper hygiene. When evaluating hygiene, it wasn’t an issue of having high expectations; simply it was an understanding that there should be basic standards. Such standards were clean hair and nails, fresh breath and non-offensive body odor. The article briefly examines cultural difference in hygiene expectations. One sorority member was quoted "I know people will say that other people from foreign countries smell bad, but this is just part of our culture. More than 95% of the people are opposed to body odor and that has become a symbol of uncleanliness" (pg 85). It's as though the interviewee is stating that American culture expects non-offensive body odor and one should adapt to that fact. Interestingly, when discussing clothing expectations, sorority members explained that it was o.k. to dress down or be more casual as long as the basic hygiene standards were met. -Rachael

In the article, "It's All Greek to Me", they also point out the "legitimacy" of the "ideal" way to dress which is considered "presentable". The question is, "Who's to say what is presentable?". According to different people and social groups, the "ideal" way to dress can be different. For example, one of the interviewees points out that it depends on your personality. It will be different for someone who likes to dress preppy compared to someone who likes to wear all black. Another factor that plays into this, is culture. The ideal here in American, is different compared to Europeans. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that there is no universal "ideal" we can all compare ourselves to, we need to take into considerations the factors of personality and culture.  -Amanda

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the mark.it team