Me too.
@oldfort - you seem to be missing my point. My daughter is at the same school as your daughter, and is in a sorority as well. She is also very pretty and interned for a congresswoman this summer. And yes, she plays beer pong. But she would never want to portrayed as the way the women are in this video, nor would I want her to. People viewing this are not going to think, what a bunch of bright women! The video is not showing any OTHER asset than appearances. And I think it is a shame that the women buy into the whole sex sells thing.
I just watched the full video again to see if I missed something here - I am just not seeing the whole âsex sellsâ thing. Young girls wear dresses and bikinis - I thought the clothing was tasteful and actually modest by todayâs standards. The swim suits were the typical bikini style not thongs. And what does sex have to do with it? The video was made by women for other women. I thought it was a recruitment video, no? The target audience was not male.
The original article is here:
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/bama_sorority_video_worse_for.html#incart_most-readnews
I donât see what the fuss is. Sororities like Alpha Phi are out to attract wealthy, socially adept young women, and this video hits the target market perfectly. If they want to be portrayed as they do so in the video, they should be perfectly able to without recrimination from anyone.
Fraternities choose what sororities they wish to âmixâ with. I would imagine that these videos, that are on YouTube after all, play at least some part in that decision-making. And if it is intended for women, whatâs with all the bikinis?
There is the bottom shot with the flag. Maybe the point is the flag and the bottom is incidental? Another bottom shot follows a girl upstairs. I canât see any other point to that shot. It kind of surprised me. Licking the ice cream (with colored coordinated lipstick) I just donât know âŠ
The video surprised me. PGâs reaction and defense surprises me more.
PG: not too long ago, you kind of slammed the idea of pretty sorority girls with waist chains, sunning in bikinis in front of their houses, so as to dazzle the boys. This video is a whole different level of effort to dazzle, imho.
The recriminations were from their own leadership-they made a unilateral decision to pull the video, no one else made that decision.
ABC news called it Alpha fi, not Alpha fee. Sheesh.
Leaving aside the bikinis (which, hell, I only wish Iâd worn bikinis MORE often in the days I had the body for it), the other clothing seemed entirely appropriate and cute. Southern in style, of course - lots of little sundresses and the like - but nothing objectionable. I didnât see leopard prints cut down to there or tattooed body sleeves.
Would there really be an âissueâ with diversity if they were all homely white girls being shown working in labs or pulling all nighters?
The video shows friendship. Sure, itâs done in a twee way but thatâs what 18 yo girls often are - twee and ribbons and bubbles and glitter.
I donât have in issue with Alpha Phi per se, but I do have an issue with the Greek recruitment culture at the University of Alabama. The fraternities and sororities are not diverse because minorities donât rush, itâs not diverse because minorities are way less likely to receive bids. This is well documented:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on0mT8MQ-Wg
The racism is not overt at UA - I doubt that Greek houses look at a minority candidate and say âWe wonât take her because sheâs black.â Being a specific skin color is more likely a subconscious, but contributing factor. There are, of course, well documented cases where advisors for sororities at UA and alumni of certain Greek houses actively barred minorities from joining.
And to the people saying that traditional Greek houses have to compete with the AA frats or sororities for minorities, keep in mind that AA houses were formed as a direct response to black exclusion.
@pizzagirl - MANY 18-years olds are about a LOT more than ribbons and bubbles and glitter. And with a video reflecting a national organization, and one affiliated with a University, one would think that they would show more than that.
I have had both institutional and societal racism at my feet my entire lifeâI suspect that gives me a perspective many on here do not have.
Harvestmoon: I watched it again, too. It seems to me the camera is focusing on bottoms and tops. In one scene the camera looks directly at bikini cleavage. I donât think Iâm imagining this, For me this changes the video from something fun (like sorority scenes in Legally Blonde) to something else, but Iâm not really sure what that something else is or whether I find it objectionable. I did notice it. And I wasnât looking for it.
âMANY 18-years olds are about a LOT more than ribbons and bubbles and glitter. And with a video reflecting a national organization, and one affiliated with a University, one would think that they would show more than that.â
The video doesnât reflect on national. It was done by that chapter, for that chapter. Iâm willing to bet the national didnât have any knowledge of it - nor would they. I bet they found out the same way everyone else did - uh oh, it made the news. See, those of you in the Greek system never seem to get the loose affiliation of chapters with nationals. Nationals donât have the manpower to provide oversight to every little move each chapter makes.
Here is the thing PG, Alabama has a black population of about 28%, one of the highest in the nation. So,as an AA male, when I see an organization that has nary a black person among dozens and dozens of whites, I donât care whether they are baking cookies, splitting atoms or planting tulips, I want to know how come??
Yes, itâs well documented that Alabamaâs system has been racist over the years.
However, objecting to racism and objecting to girls being cute are two different things.
I repeat - if this had been a video of average-to-homely looking white girls, being depicted studying at the library, pulling all-nighters, etc., would there have been an outcry that they werenât âdiverse enoughâ? Somehow I doubt it. These are pretty girls and they need to be taken down a peg is what Iâm hearing, because how dare they be pretty.
Now, are these girls serious? Look - again, this is Alabama, this isnât MIT. I bet some girls are serious, and others arenât. But to object that non-serious girls portray themselves as non-serious â well, they are what they are. Thereâs no crime in liking Lilly Pulitzer and glitter and bubbles, even though itâs not my personal style.
@Pizzagirl - see, those of you not in the greek system never seem to understand that there is actually a very close relationship between national and the university chapters. Every sorority has multiple alumnae advisors, and is monitored rather closely by national. Especially during recruitment. Fraternities do not operate that way, but sororities are very connected to their national organizations.
blprof: oh nooooooo
PG and I have been debating sorority life for years and we were both in sororities. Welcome to the ongoing and neverending debate.
I wouldnât assume thatâs the case.
If the university didnât request the take down, the official statement may have influenced the sororityâs decision to take it down.