Pledged: The Secret Life Of Sororities (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
An interesting investigative report on life in historically white sororities in the 2000's South. Having been denied access to sororities by their national offices, in the wake of MTV's expose, the young (thin, pretty) Robbins accompanied four young women undercover through for one academic year, at the risk of their being disaffiliated. She does not disclose the location or name of the university (although it is in a warm climate) or the sororities. She says that she deliberately chose ordinary sororities with good reputations and ordinary members to represent them.The result is revealing. It confirms my own decision not to join a sorority back in the '80s, if only because the students seem to spend most of their time drinking, buying clothes, finding dates, having sex, arguing, and drinking. I was not surprised that selection, ranking, and overall valuing of members is based partly on appearance, but was surprised that family income is so blatantly important. The book moves along at a fairly good clip, sometimes dragging a little through accounts of endless drunken parties and dances. More interesting are the times the sisters spend together NOT drinking, or not mostly drinking, but talking while they do each other's hair, comforting each other over a break-up or a failure, celebrating a success, complaining or planning. The most interesting parts of the book are the ancillary interviews with alumnae from chapters at other colleges, the chapter on historically black sororities (which contains a few brief paragraphs on Hispanic sororities), and the bits about independent groups such as coed frats. Robbins does an excellent job of exposing the racism in the women's Greek system in the South, although she could write more about the North and West. The most valuable part of the book is the final chapter, in which Robbins recommends ways to improve historically white sorority life. For example, she strongly suggests that sororities eliminate rush (the whirlwind ritual in which hopefuls visit all the chapters for a few mintues at a time, rather like speed dating) in favor of a more sensible visiting and application process. She points out that the white organizations are basically social groups, not service groups, and questions why they merit special support from colleges: Colleges are within their rights to make demands on them and to revoke their support if demands are not met. Robbins also notes that white sororities are not really women's groups as long as most of their activities are centered around dating, fraternity mixers, and balls--that is, around men. She answers all her criticisms with ideas for change. Having described a number of frightening instances of physical, sexual and mental hazing dating back to the 1970's (including two at the university where my father taught), Robbins shows how the sororities' national governing body, by discouraging hazing but failing to define it, managed to drive it underground in some chapters while simply weakening the group bonding process in others. She challenges the national body to define hazing outright and then to ban it, while instituting positive group-building methods.The book could be improved. For example, the treatment of historically black sororities is too brief, although the main purpose of the book is an undercover report on white sororities (Robbins is white). One of her four main "interviewees" is black, and she displays little understanding of the challenges a young black woman faces in a group of rich, overprivileged white women. Throughout the book, Robbins refers to her subjects as "girls," while she calls their fraternity counterparts "men" about half the time. This grated on my nerves. When I moved to Texas I was struck by the fact that university sports were divided into "men's" teams and "girls'" teams. Nomenclature is a small point, but it is not trivial. It reflects the overall status of persons. College males have historically been called men, while females have been called girls--unless they were married. Age did not enter into it.I doubt that women who love their sororities will be at all happy with this book, except, perhaps, for some of the recommendations in the last chapter. Certainly the fact that Robbins was forced to go undercover made it a very different report than it would have been had she had open access, with sisters, advisors, consultants and university administrators knowing who she was, providing interviews, offering information, and engaging her on various levels. Instead of treating investigators like Robbins as partners in reform--reform of a system in which young women abuse alcohol, vomit so frequently they damage the plumbing, get raped, and die--they circle the wagons. Outsiders are left wondering what sororities are hiding.Robbins is, after all, calling for reform of the system, not for getting rid of it. She finds something of value in it: groups in which young women find a niche, friends, a place to fit in. She hopes to make it a better, safer place for more women, one with less racism, hostility, and danger. Those in charge might learn from NASA, whose media policy, after the disaster of the Apollo 1 coverup, changed from secrecy to "When things are going well, tell the media everything they want to know. When things are going badly, tell them more."
Expose? Not so much. Pulpy and sordid? You bet. Very few things make me dislike a work more than dishonesty. And thinly shrouded dishonesty? Even worse. I truly felt this work insulted my intelligence. Robbins is a liar, and not a good liar at that. She writes the book as if it is non-fiction, presents it as such, but there is no way that this is true. Robbins must think her readers are idiots. Most telling is her use of an omniscient narrator who tells details and thoughts about and from the characters that no researcher could ever know either through interview or through observation. These are patently false, and presenting this as truth is dishonesty.Robbin's work is more like a parable, morality play, or fable than it is a research piece. Could these things have happened? Most certainly they have. Did they happen the way that Robbins says they did? An almost unequivocal no. I think the truth in the book comes from two sources--the hard data interspersed between the narrative, and I think, some interviews or shadowing with and of her subjects. I am sure some of the narrative she writes is true; there is no doubt in my mind of that. There is also no doubt in my mind that the narratives have been greatly embellished and dramatized for the sake of a more dramatic work.This becomes problematic due to Robbins' assertion that it is all true. It cant be so; so where does the truth end and the fiction begin? Its as if Robbins is cashing in on the gullibility of the audience in order to prove a point; a point that becomes invalid due to its manipulative dishonesty. Robbins knows her audience--those looking for a sordid tale and those of the pearl-clutching persuasion.Right now, pearl clutchers are convinced our society is going to hell due to wild teenage girls engaging in sexual activity or using drugs. "They're irresponsible!" "They're growing up too fast!" "What can we do to protect our daughters?!" are the refrains of the "concerned parent." Robbins knows this fear and mindset, and uses and manipulates it to make her point and some money.Do not be fooled, this is not a scholastic work, a sociology doctorate thesis. It is a pulp novel made and crafted for the gullible masses, subject to no real review process and not restrained by requirements for scholastic, ethical, or even honest reporting. It comes down to a simple truth--if it sounds too good or perfect to be true, then it probably is.
What do You think about Pledged: The Secret Life Of Sororities (2005)?
“Pledged” (Hyperion, 2004) by Alexandra Robbins is interesting - in a voyeuristic sort of way. What is that word that means superficial and empty, and has a couple of Us in it? Supposedly a tell-all on sororities, I suspect that everything the author depicts really does happen – just not constantly at the particular sororities she studied. I think she really put together a mélange of sordid activities from a number of sororities and assigned them for journalistic purposes to the ones she was writing about. So I have a problem with balance. I believe there are sororities that do some good and have more purpose than just drinking and playing sex games with the fraternities … but that wasn’t her storyline. The sororities the author writes about are selectively kept to those that bring their pledges in on the basis of beauty and affluence. While they include the occasional token – whether by color of skin or looks or religion or affluence – the sororities Robbins focuses on pretty much kept to beauty and affluence as a condition precedent to membership. Thus we hear all about the – what was that word – activities that these types of women engage in. I am quite sure there are sororities that attract pledges based on other less superficial things, and that they actually have fun and perform some service to the community. But this book really just showcases the other extreme. The fact is, many of the activities attributed to sororities happen in the dorms also. I don’t think sororities have any corner on binge drinking, casual sex, promiscuity, low academics, and the like. It happens in many areas of large campuses. Maybe sorority life just facilitates the nefarious activities. They are better organized and have practiced the moves down to a process – pledging, formals, date dashes, rush parties, and the like. Many young men and women out on their own with total freedom for the first time will act out – some of them to the extreme – and that is a fact of life. The Greek system just facilitates the process. My biggest complaint with the book is it just focused on the titillating parts of sorority life, but that’s what sells books. It would have been nice to see a balanced approach to sororities – showcasing the good, the bad, and the ugly. As it was, the book got a bit boring after hearing about the tenth in a series of drunken parties. But if you are looking for an unmasking of the rituals … preference night, Greek week, pre-gaming, bid day, hell week, revelation night … this might be your cup of tea. Oh yes – that word was vacuous and it has two Us.
—Rick
I really have mixed emotions on this book. First of all, the author I think acturately portrays sorority girls, but I think this representation doesn't just pertain to sorority girls, but college girls in general. I was in a sorority and I am proud to say Delta Gamma was not portrayed negatively at all. There were a few references, but nothing appauling. There were many things about this book that I question. I don't think the author was at many of these events, but was told what happen afterward. The four girls she followed throughout the are typical college students. I don't think they did anything different than most, they just did it with letters. I know the author did research for this book, but many of the events were not witnessed first hand. Did the sorority girls embellish a bit? Perhaps. I think it she would have actually gone undercover and joined a sorority, it would have been more appealing and believable. I think she was jealous and jaded because she never joined in college and regretted it. I loved my sorority experience and know I will always be friends with several my sisters. It goes like the line in The Wedding Planner, "Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't wed, plan."
—Carrie
The closest we come here to a Sorority is an all girl's boarding secondary school. Apart from that I don't have much of an idea of Greek life apart from what we learn from watching Greek. It was a good read, basically just following the lives of four sorority girls and all the happenings behind closed doors. It might have been biased for other readers but I thought the author did well to emphasize that not all "Sororities" or "Fraternities" were like that. However, many of these institutions, including the one she was following had negative little spots that were otherwise hidden from the general public or exaggerated even. At the end of the book, the author gives in her personal thoughts on how she thought the Greek System could be improved. I took so long reading because I kept losing interest in the book not because it was boring but basically because we didn't have the Greek System here, I was no way affiliated with it or with anyone and thus not interested to read about that. The girls the author chose to follow acted like teenagers, and for people who seemed to have almost no trouble keeping with their grades, they didn't speak proper English. Their dialogue was right out of a "Paris Hilton" vocabulary. Vicky was the only one who appealed to me.In any case, I managed to finish it and I would recommend this for those who are thinking of pledging into a sorority and for parents.
—Maryann
