What's All the Talk About Sisterhood
As long as women have been around we have needed each other. There are some great movies about it. The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood & Steel Magnolias are two that come to mind. (These are very Gen X, because, Seasoned Old Bird) Both have deep themes of mother-daughter relationships, but more importantly feature how valuable female friendships are. (Funny side note, they both take place in Louisiana.) Women's friendships are an absolute & sororities started out of this need as well.
Most sororities have similar back stories, there was a small group of women on predominantly male campuses who needed friendship, accountability, and academic growth. The more things change, the more they stay the same. What's changed is that today there are more women seeking an undergraduate degree than men. What hasn't changed is the need of connection. As long as women are around, sororities should be viable.
The earliest NPC sorority was founded in 1851 and the last was founded in 1917. 9 of NPCs 26 sororities were founded before 1880. This is an indication of how quickly women were advocating and forming groups for themselves, even when administrations were fighting against them. These founders may have been a small group, but they would not be ignored. They were, as my collegians call them, baddies.
These early sorority women were expected to keep up with the men academically, which was a novel idea over 100+ years ago. Failure wasn't an option for these founding sorority members. There were people from home and universities watching & waiting for failure. I can't imagine the stress these women were under. If you wanted to play with the boys, there were no concessions because you were a women. You were expected to step up and play. If you played better, it didn't matter, but you better keep up. I know of one sorority's founder who was valedictorian of her class, but she wasn't allowed to give the speech because she was a woman. Again, thanks for playing, but we're not going to publicly admit you're better. I'm sure her sisters were proud of her & celebrated her academic achievements. Women need other women, and that hasn't changed in 175 years.
So why sororities? Outside of church and women's athletics groups, (I'm including dance, gymnastics, etc in this list.) there are few ways for young women to join all women's groups. I've noticed that these groups act like a sorority. They grow together, support one another, they serve, they're loyal and true, and many are friends outside their chosen churches or arenas of play. Sororities fulfill the same void for collegiate women.
We need friends to listen and not try to fix the situation. My favorite memes are the ones that talk about women supporting women no matter the situation. You know those times you feel like you're totally crazy, but your sister looks at you & laughs, because in reality, she's as crazy as you are.
To this day I'm so incredibly thankful for the sorority sisters who walked beside me through some of the hardest and best days in my life. For the sisters I've met while serving my national organization, I'm so glad our sorority brought us together. If you've been in the secret treehouse of trust you know!
Fraternally,
The Seasoned Old Bird
Comments