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IN THE FRATERNAL SISTERHOOD

Sororities as Gender Strategy

State University of New York-Stony Brook

This article analyzes sororities as gender strategy. The author argues that young women use sororities as a strategy for dealing with the complexities of gender(ed) relations—both among women and between women and men. Based on a case study of a nationally affiliated historically white sorority, the article focuses primarily on how sororities structure relationships among women and between women and men, helping them to navigate campus life, particularly what Holland and Eisenhart have identified as a male-dominated culture of romance. Employing a language of sisterhood, sororities encourage strong bonds between members; still, they fail to resolve tensions between the collective interests of the sororities and the individualistic strategies of members in the romantic marketplace. It is argued that, while sororities can be seen as a collective response to male domination, they are not a challenge to it.

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