Why has a video of bouncing, white sorority girls been going around the internet this week, and been embroiled in so much controversy? The video from Alpha Phi isn’t very unique. It’s a fairly standard sorority recruitment video. It depicts a racially-homogenized group of young, attractive women, bouncing around, laughing, having a good time. Why are so many people upset by it?
The most likely reason for the outcry is the video has become a symbol of today’s young having a lack-of-awareness for how others will perceive events, or simply a “we don’t care attitude.” While supporters of the video contend the women are free to represent themselves however they wish, the image they create is also open to criticism.
What the video implicitly puts forth is the singular vision of what sorority girls look like: mostly-blonde, thin and white. It leaves so many women ostracized and left out. It’s a problem that bears itself out in the numerous reports on racial integration failures plaguing Greek life in our colleges and universities. What makes the video even more controversial is the sorority is in the deep South.
That’s what makes A.L. Bailey’s critique echo so loudly. Most of her criticism could be applied to sororities at large, and this particular video became a very effective vehicle for voicing that.
It’s so racially and aesthetically homogeneous and forced, so hyper-feminine, so reductive and objectifying, so Stepford Wives: College Edition. It’s all so… unempowering.
Are they recruiting a diverse and talented group of young women embarking on a college education? Upon first or even fifth glance, probably not. Hormonal college-aged guys? Most assuredly yes. …
While we at ROF might be wrong, it’s our position that this is what is driving the controversy. If not, we are unable to explain why this specific video has become such a hot topic.
