“Leading with values” is the motto for the national chapter of Pi Beta Phi and “Leadership, Scolarship and Friendship” are the core values of Kappa Kappa Gamma, but yet sorority girls seem to have a bad reputation… maybe it has something to do with a dress code from Cornell University Pi Beta Phi chapter that recently made the headlines.
The guide includes “yes” and “no” lists of acceptable and unacceptable clothing, shoes and accessories for all occasions. “No’s” include muffin tops, camel toe and pleather, with a special consideration for satin dresses that explains, “No one looks good in satin dresses unless it’s from Betsey Johnson or Dolce and Gabbana, you weigh less than 130 pounds, have three pairs of Spanks on and it’s New Years Eve.”
According to a recent study published in the journal Sex Roles, women had a lower self-esteem level just one month after pledging to a sorority.
The study also shows that women who “dropped out of the rush process were found to have a significantly higher body mass index [BMI] than those who pledged — yet those women were not found to be overweight. They had healthy BMIs on average, but were just less thin than the women who actually joined sororities. The researchers concluded that rather than an anti-fat bias at sororities, a bias exists against women who don’t live up to the “thin body ideal,” not the healthy body ideal.”
Other pledges disagreed with this stereotype and added that it depends on the sorority that you are rushing.
“There are some sororities that probably demanded a certain look, which might have been a lot of pressure for people pledging,” she tells ParentDish. “But there were also others that were more open and diverse — it really depends on the individual sorority you’re rushing,” says Lauren Hildebrand, a New York City-based sustainability consultant who pledged a sorority at a small college in Pennsylvania in 2000.
Although the study concedes it is possible that the sorority rush truly has no effect on the way women look at themselves. It suggests that “women who hold these views and women already engaging in, or at risk for, eating disorder behaviors and attitudes may be more likely to participate in sorority rush, and that membership in a sorority may “amplify pre-existing, problematic attitudes and behaviors.”
Digg this Blog
Share on Facebook
WatchMojo on Twitter
WatchMojo on YouTube
Add to Favorites
WatchMojo Newsletter
