Fraternities are given special privilege within universities and colleges, this privilege arises from the social status these institutions hold as well as the university’s tendency to turn a blind eye to their deviance. Many universities attempt to educate their student body regarding consent and safe sex but very few actually punish behavior promoting rape culture. Fraternities have very little regulation from the university when it comes to their social events causing these parties to often be a showdown for masculinity and competition using women as the prizes which can lead to the abuse of these women.
The attitudes displayed by fraternity members toward women are often extremely misogynistic, a common practice among fraternities is having ‘little sisters’ which are attractive women who socialize with the brothers and attend their parties and events. These little sisters are often used as bait to lure in new pledges; they are used as “examples” of the kind of women that the pledges can ‘obtain’ is they join said fraternity.
Fraternity brothers implicitly and sometimes explicitly promise the pledges that by joining their fraternity they will be able to have sex with a lot of attractive women; this creates a power complex in which the fraternities that offer the most commodities (women) are seen as the best or most powerful. This power complex revolving around the objectification of women and their bodies is the core of the disrespect toward women among fraternity members. By viewing women as commodities, fraternity members begin to see their bodies as something that they are entitled to. This entitlement is what allows members to use coercive methods, usually involving alcohol, to force women into sexual activity.
Fraternity members are hand picked to fit specific traits, such as enjoying heavy drinking and engaging in “manly” activities such as talking about sports. Fraternities tend to associate the consumption of alcohol with being ‘manly’ and are very hesitant to accept non drinkers.
Being manly is very important in maintain the prestige of the fraternity, for this very reason potential members are screened rigorously to the point that they are all carbon copies of each other: clean-cut, handsome, well dressed, affluent men with typical ‘manly’ interests such as sports and drinking. This very uniformity is what distinguishes them from the rest of the students and gives fraternities that high social status they all aim for.
In order to understand fraternity rape culture and its causes we must keep in mind the attitudes of Greek members toward gender and dominance. Both fraternity and sorority members tend to have more stereotypical views when it comes to gender roles. This why fraternity men tend to feel like it is appropriate for them to be manipulative and aggressive to get what they want from women.
A prime example of the attitudes toward women displayed by fraternity members is their treatment of their Little Sisters. Little Sisters are pseudo-members of fraternities; they are recruited by the brothers usually when they are freshmen. These women are used as sexual bait to lure in ‘the best’ pledges and to assert the dominance of the fraternity. The power complex relationship between the Brothers and Little Sisters is truly concerning; the men use the women to build up their masculinity and in return give these freshmen a social standing.
The reason that Little Sisters are recruited as freshmen is because first year students are new to the college experience, have little social ties, and the idea of high social status is more appealing. Little Sisters usually are not treated well as they only serve as commodity to the Brothers but they are lured in by the promise of a good time and of social standing and consequently trapped by sexual coercion and fear. This system results in a steady stream of young, vulnerable, naïve women for fraternity brothers to treat as they wish with no consequences.
The prevalence of fraternity rape culture on college and university campuses is made possible by the pedestal that fraternities are put on by both their institutions and their peers, the higher consumption of alcohol, and the member’s attitudes toward gender and dominance. According to Inside Higher Ed, Fraternity members are three times more likely to commit sexual assault than non-members and women involved in Greek organizations were 74 percent more likely to experience rape than other college women. Greek life is frequently portrayed as the ultimate college experience, this is they are often looked up to and their actions justified.
Many first year male students go into college picturing the fraternity lifestyle as what college is supposed to be like: alcohol, partying, and sex. The consumption of alcohol is definitely a major factor in fraternity rape culture because it is routinely used as a weapon to coerce women into sexual activity. Fraternities are known to plan out their attacks by getting women drunk enough to erase no from their vocabulary, this is done on both an individual and collaborative level.
Rape culture itself stems from the dehumanization of women and fraternity rape culture is no exception. Brothers usually hold gender normative views regarding masculinity and dominance and multiple studies have shown the lack of respect towards women. Women are viewed as commodities by fraternities which dehumanizes their victims and allows them to feel little to no guilt. With all of these factors in mind, the question is: Are fraternities more harmful than good to the institution of higher education?
