Creating a Fraternal Change

Having established that outside forces can play as large of a part as internal forces in the development of an individuals sexuality, it is important to persuade individuals to look inside to evaluate themselves rather than relying on the media and otherwise to develop.

Evaluating a Broken System

As I conclude this semesters project for AMST-334, Sexuality and Social Media it is important to do an overall analysis of the information I have gained as well as what I can now do with this information. Hopefully the information obtained will be useful for other members within the Greek community as they begin to explore their sexuality throughout college. I will break this post into two posts, the first dealing with my overall findings, and the second will focus on what will be happening going forward as far as Masculinity Within a Fraternity goes.

I was not anticipating to write so much about hazing throughout my research project. My own fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon does not incorporate hazing into our development process so I haven’t had as much exposure to the process. However hazing is something that is happening in organizations throughout the nation and not only within the Greek community. Hazing can occur in the work place, on the sports field, or within the classroom. However as I explored news and pop culture that examined fraternities, most of the social commentary focused on hazing and the affect it can have on an individual. In some situations, hazing is conveyed without the negative consequences that can occur such as forced aggression and creating a negative stereotype through developing norms that undermine the goal of a fraternity. When looking at hazing through the eyes of other men and women who are a part of Greek life, hazing is more of a detriment than a system of uniting men and women together. Instead hazing serves to humiliate individuals, the reason more people don’t disaffiliate could be the idea of it being a sunk cost, that they have already gone through enough that they may as well finish or else they did it for nothing. Once that happens, people who were hazed need to haze someone else so that they are not a victim, instead they are just a part of a perpetuating “fraternal system”.

Another important aspect to have observed while throughout my semester writing about developing masculinity within a fraternity was considering the influence culture has on the development process. When looking at outside forces such as the media, the idea of a “bro” is most thought of as being the norm. Does this social influence encourage more men who join fraternities to conform to this norm and does it influence their actual development process. I believe that it is impossible for society not to exert some sort of pressure. With so many individuals watching television or using social media and seeing these norms in more ways than possible gentlemen are persuaded to believe that all fraternities are like the way they have been displayed. After joining the new men will have the ability to change the culture, possibly to reflect what they have seen in the media.

It is evident to see that there has been a change in the culture from Phi Beta Kappa, to current fraternities who are priding themselves more on their drinking than their values. The next blog post I will continue to analyze how men within fraternities can balance the new and old culture and take charge of their own development process. The current system is broken, men cannot continue to develop when they are being broken down and society expects it to happen. A change has to occur if the longterm success of fraternities is to happen.

Fuel that Feeds the Fraternity

When looking at the interviews completed it is important to evaluate them on an overall basis rather than individually. The reason for making an overall generalization as an evaluation is to recognize that there is no one set definition for what it means to be masculine. As I read on, my hypothesis was confirmed that being within a fraternity can push you to become more masculine, however what you believe to be masculine can change from person to person. In some situations, joining a fraternity can push you to become a better person because of the people you surround yourself with. Since fraternities are values based organizations, hopefully joining one that aligns with your values will encourage you to be better without sacrificing a brother’s morals.

In an article dealing with aggression, video games, and determining the role traditional masculinity norms plays, Ronald Levant notes that while violent video games may cause aggression, it can be spurred on or quelled by the way an individual believes masculinity roles to be (Levant 48). Although the article dealt with video games it is important to think of how masculinity can fuel other members within Greek life to think of themselves as being more aggressive similar to the concept of machismo we have discussed earlier. Those that were interviewed believe that other brothers can make them more masculine but have ensured that it won’t be in a negative way that could affect either themselves or their community.

Another concept that I hadn’t previously discussed in length was the concept of brotherhood and how it can affect the development of masculinity while in a fraternity. The respondents all placed a high emphasis on the importance of brotherhood as an aspect as to why they were a part of a fraternity. Brotherhood as the shared experience by countless brothers can help develop the spirit and camaraderie that is felt by brothers. As Jared Alves wrote “Even though that sort of relationship can develop outside of a fraternity, the numerous shared experiences facilitated by the fraternity accelerate their development.” Since brothers are encouraged to spend a lot of time together it can be easy to push others to do certain things, having a strong brotherhood will ensure that they are being pushed in the right direction.

Going forward I would like to be able to interview more individuals not only those within one fraternity but sororities as well as members not within the Greek community to gain a better insight as to how they see their masculinity forming and the concept of what brotherhood is.

How would you describe brotherhood? Would it be different then anything that has been said here?

Work Cited:

Thomas, Kimberly D., and Ronald F. Levant. “Does The Endorsement Of Traditional Masculinity Ideology Moderate The Relationship Between Exposure To Violent Video Games And Aggression?.” Journal Of Men’s Studies 20.1 (2012): 47-56. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 May 2012.

Interview with Jared Alves

In this interview I was able to talk with Jared Alves, a senior at American University who has been studying Communications, Law, Economics, and Government. At one point Jared was the Vice President of Programming and was most recently in charge of educating new brothers that had joined the fraternity.

What made you decide to join Greek Life?

I was looking to replace the close friendships that I had developed throughout high school among my soccer teammates. Club soccer and the undergraduate senate did not provide the same camaraderie, and so a fraternity was just another group to try. After meeting brothers at the open and closed recruitment events, I knew that I would make the new lifelong friends that I was looking for in SigEp.

Interview With Jose Morales

Jose Morales is a junior at American University studying Political Science and Sociology. He currently is the Vice President of Membership Development within Sigma Phi Epsilon. Jose also sings for the a capella group On A Sensual Note.

What made you decide to join Greek Life?

A few choice people actually. The allure of a fraternity didn’t set in for me until I had joined. As someone who grew up with his sisters, his mother, and grandmother being the predominant influences in his life, having friends who were guys were fine but I never thought I could fit into a social scenario where I’d call someone brother. But yeah, it was a handful of men who showed extraordinary character almost every time I hung out with them.

Coming into college did you believe you would ever join a fraternity?

Nope. In fact, one of my loading carts on move in day was stolen by someone in letters, but my parents can’t remember what they looked like. So I swore off fraternities. Then SigEp came along. 

Speaking Out Against the Stereotypes

A reoccurring theme of this blog has been how culture has been reinforcing stereotypes and creating norms that men feel they must live up to in order to maintain their masculinity. Just because a norm has been established, living up to it does not make it right. There are plenty of individuals who do not fit the norm, and in turn could be considered to be weird or different but that shouldn’t make them wrong.

In order to show the importance of breaking norms I have found events that show how fraternities are breaking precedent by speaking out against what is considered the be “frat life” such as hazing or discriminating against sexualities.

At Quinnipiac University, Michael Castro informed his brothers that he was gay. Although nervous, Castro hoped that his fraternity would be willing to support him, ““I have something to say. I don’t want any of you to think of me any differently. I’m still the same person. I cherish all of your friendships, and I don’t wanna lose anyone through saying this, but I’m gay,” said Castro (Nobile). Afterwards, his brothers stood up and clapped their hands in applause as a way of symbolizing their support. Two other brothers would go on to admit their true sexuality.

Credit: Madeline Hardy | The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Interview with Palak Gosar

What made you decide to join Greek Life?

When I first came to AU I was mostly against it.  It did not seem like where I would belong or something that I would like. My sophomore year, after talking to some friends who decided to try it out and loved it, I decided to give it a shot. I was looking for something to change and Greek life seemed like a way to branch out and become a part of something that I’ve never experienced before.

Coming into college did you believe you would ever join a fraternity?

As I said before I had no intention to join a Fraternity before I joined. In fact, I had been pretty anti-greek before I decided to rush.

Interview with Ian Treischmann

Ian is one of the newest brothers to have joined Sigma Phi Epsilon so his view on fraternities will be refreshing to see how a new brother perceives Greek life and the effect it has had on masculinity.

What made you decide to join Greek Life?

Honestly I never thought I would join Greek Life in the first place, but what changed my mind was the all-around intelligent, caring, and funny guys in SigEp who didn’t seemed imposing, but welcoming.

Interview with Daniel Knoll

What made you decide to join Greek Life?

I joined SigEp because of the brothers. They made me feel welcome and right off the bat I got the sense that they’d be there to support me in good times and bad. I also wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, and this was an excellent opportunity to join a premier national fraternity.

Coming into college did you believe you would ever join a fraternity?

Nope. I never thought I’d join a Fraternity

How would you define brotherhood? How do you believe it is formed?

Brotherhood is the concept of always supporting each other regardless of differences in ideology or opinion. You’re allowed to argue and disagree, but at the end of the day you put all of that aside when the other person needs help. Its also about challenging one another to always be better, to continuously improve. Its formed by being around one another and working towards a common purpose, whether its planning a philanthropy or playing sports together. Brotherhood is not something that comes instantly, you’ve gotta put some effort into it.

Interview with Chris Jasinski

The following interview was conducted via Email where I used the questions I outline here. As a brief introduction, Chris is a sophomore at American University a part of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. The following is the interview we had together:

What made you decide to join Greek Life?

I joined Greek life ultimately because I missed the bond I shared with my brothers who were hundreds of miles away. I grew up with two older brothers which meant I always had two individuals close to my side. Then I started to become friends with an individual that became practically my brother, who introduced me to other people. This became a vicious cycle to the point where it was a no brainer to join SigEp.