I hate to stereotype people and organizations but I can’t say that I’m surprised by this recent study that shows that women in sororities are more like to have body image problems.
Sorority Rush Risk
This topic is bound to be a bit controversial, so I suggest you click on over to ScienceDaily to read about it more detail. But the bottom line is that women who rushed a sorority had higher levels of self-objectification and disordered eating behaviors than among women who did not take part. According to the article, this is the first study to test objectification theory in a real-life context.
What do YOU think? Have you (or someone you know) had an experience with sorority life that’s changed your self image? Leave a comment and share your thought and concerns with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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Given how fat boys behave, I can’t see how Greek life is good for anyone.
FRAT boys. Helluva typo, there.
Uh, I don’t see anything in that article that shows that sorority life changed anyone’s self-image. Come on, scientists, correlation does not imply causation. It’s a pretty safe hypothesis that insecure girls are more likely to rush in the first place.
Sorry, BB, but your strength lies in chemistry, not social sciences. I’d prefer to read more about marketing claims and how products work, rather than eating disorders, which I can read on any other blog.
I agree with Jillian. “Levels of self-objectification and disordered eating behaviors were higher among rush participants than among women who did not take part, throughout the study period.” …There is clearly a lurking variable. The sororities did not necessarily cause or exacerbate this- less secure girls joined to begin with.
I am a senior in a sorority, and my experiences have made me much MORE comfortable with myself. The surveys in question were conducted before and only a month after rush, when new members have still not learned what is (or isn’t) what it means to be a part of the group. If anything these girls are probably feeling that they have to live up to unrealistic standards due to stereotypes propagated by articles like this one. I know I was intimidated when I first joined, but soon came to realize that nobody was out to get me or judging me for how I look.
I’m sure everyone’s experiences are different, but this a totally misleading and sensationalist study compared to my anecdotal experience. I’m disappointed that BB would include it, as it is off topic and could potentially add to the stress of young college women considering rush.
Dara Chadwick actually talked about this – she’s the writer of the book You’d Be So Pretty If and has a blog by the same name -
http://www.youdbesoprettyif.com/
It had more to do with friends “bonding” over fat talk but I can see the point -
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/youd-be-so-pretty-if/201003/just-in-friends-can-be-bad-your-body-image
With what happened with Pi Phi Cornell recently I can’t say I’m surprised.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/cornells-pi-phi-sorority-dress-code
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/22/sorority-sisters-fashion_n_433491.html
http://www.dlisted.com/node/35791
This just in – the sky is falling, the grass is green! Sorostitutes on large college campuses are easy to pigeonhole – the university I attended had sorority dues of nearly 3k a semester and a full-time cook for the girls who lived in the house! But at smaller schools, it’s a way to meet people and do service work. Anyways, I love TBB for your reviews and analysis on beauty stuff. But, perhaps the piece was worth it for those few high schoolers who are on the fence about joining a sorority.