Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
Registered by wyldanthem of Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA on 5/6/2006
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
From Publishers Weekly:
Robbins, who previously researched Yale's Skull and Bones Society for Secrets of the Tomb and also coauthored Quarterlife Crisis, went undercover for the 2002-2003 academic year to investigate the inner workings of "Greek" (National Panhellenic Conference) sororities. Sororities are far from anachronisms; there are presently some 3.5 million women in almost 3,000 Greek chapters on campuses across America.
After the national office forbade locals from cooperating with Robbins, she disguised herself as an undergrad and found four sorority women willing to risk expulsion to help her. While Robbins structures her narrative around the year's ritual cycle-the rush, the bid, pledging, initiation, Greek Week, etc.-the timeless soap opera of sorority life occupies center stage. And although battles between girls can be wrenching, there's nothing like a date gone wrong to bring out the tears and the thermos of vodka.
Beyond romance, Robbins's informants have their own issues, among them, being black and poor in a rich white sorority and recovering from date rape by a frat brother. These problems are worsened by an environment that encourages binge drinking, drug abuse, eating disorders and blind obedience to what their pledge masters or sorority elders tell them to do.
Historically black sororities, which are not the focus of this book, do have a reputation for promoting community service and sisterhood; "historically white" sororities, Robbins concludes, are really just social groups for making friends and meeting guys, despite their claims to academic and service values. Robbins makes suggestions for reforming sororities-more adult supervision, ending pledging, etc.-although the demystification that comes from reading her front-line account may be the best prescription.
(Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.)
Robbins, who previously researched Yale's Skull and Bones Society for Secrets of the Tomb and also coauthored Quarterlife Crisis, went undercover for the 2002-2003 academic year to investigate the inner workings of "Greek" (National Panhellenic Conference) sororities. Sororities are far from anachronisms; there are presently some 3.5 million women in almost 3,000 Greek chapters on campuses across America.
After the national office forbade locals from cooperating with Robbins, she disguised herself as an undergrad and found four sorority women willing to risk expulsion to help her. While Robbins structures her narrative around the year's ritual cycle-the rush, the bid, pledging, initiation, Greek Week, etc.-the timeless soap opera of sorority life occupies center stage. And although battles between girls can be wrenching, there's nothing like a date gone wrong to bring out the tears and the thermos of vodka.
Beyond romance, Robbins's informants have their own issues, among them, being black and poor in a rich white sorority and recovering from date rape by a frat brother. These problems are worsened by an environment that encourages binge drinking, drug abuse, eating disorders and blind obedience to what their pledge masters or sorority elders tell them to do.
Historically black sororities, which are not the focus of this book, do have a reputation for promoting community service and sisterhood; "historically white" sororities, Robbins concludes, are really just social groups for making friends and meeting guys, despite their claims to academic and service values. Robbins makes suggestions for reforming sororities-more adult supervision, ending pledging, etc.-although the demystification that comes from reading her front-line account may be the best prescription.
(Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.)
Will update this journal entry with my thoughts here later. Preparing for a wild release!
Journal Entry 3 by wyldanthem at LFL - - Hunting Meadows in Columbia, Ohio USA on Friday, February 9, 2024
Released 1 yr ago (2/9/2024 UTC) at LFL - - Hunting Meadows in Columbia, Ohio USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Left in the Little Free Library in Hunting Meadows for the next lucky reader.
To the finder of this book: Hello, and congratulations!
You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing — maybe even make a journal entry on this book. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!). And if you do choose to join, I hope you'll consider using one of the previous journallers as your referring member.
Feel free to read and keep this book, pass it on to a friend, or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did. If you do choose to join and journal, then you can watch the book as it travels — you'll be alerted by e-mail each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free.
Happy reading!
To the finder of this book: Hello, and congratulations!
You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing — maybe even make a journal entry on this book. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!). And if you do choose to join, I hope you'll consider using one of the previous journallers as your referring member.
Feel free to read and keep this book, pass it on to a friend, or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did. If you do choose to join and journal, then you can watch the book as it travels — you'll be alerted by e-mail each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free.
Happy reading!
