Understanding ‘The Panty Shanty’: off-campus house signs as cultural texts on gender and sexuality

Abstract

Students at a large, prestigious, public university in the Midwestern region of the USA have a long-standing tradition of naming their rented houses off campus and communicating those names to the student body through displaying prominent and eye-catching house signs. Examples of signs names and visual characteristics are: ‘Betty Ford Clinic’ (featuring an image of a martini glass); ‘Morning Wood’ (referencing male sexual arousal and depicting a tent with a man's legs sticking out); ‘Time Well Wasted’ (written in pink over a beach scene and a martini glass); ‘Fox Den’ (images of a fox tail and a well-known sorority symbol); ‘Tequila Mockingbird’ (a play on words); and ‘Down on U’ (the sign references a sexual act for a house located on University Avenue). Through a socio-feminist and social constructionist perspective, the researchers use content analysis to explore how these house signs serve as cultural texts on gender and sexuality norms in the American undergraduate college setting. Based on our data, house signs reinforce dominant forms of gender ideologies, including hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity, both of which are associated with upholding and promoting institutionalized patriarchy (Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & Society, 19, 829–859). These house signs are also shown through the data to promote a campus culture of heteronormativity where partying, drinking, and casual sex are standards for social belonging, and where high rates of sexual assault persist. As opposed to viewing house signs as simply manifestations of student wit and harmless humor, the researchers critically evaluate if and how these visual displays serve as a mechanism through which gender and sexuality-related inequalities are perpetuated within a higher education institutional setting. Implications for students and their college campuses are discussed.

Keywords:

• college
• gender
• sexuality
• alcohol
• content analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Chris Dudas for his assistance with the 2013 data coding and entry and Scott Wagar for assisting in photographing and documenting signs during the 2013 data collection phase.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. The name of the university has been changed.

^2. Name has been changed.

^3. For more on the history of house signs, please see LaDousa (2007, 2011).

^4. Many college campuses across the USA have their own chapters of nationally recognized sororities (for females) and fraternities (for males) that together make up what is called the Greek scene on campus. The Greek reference stems from the fact that each sorority and fraternity is named after a combination of Greek letters. Sororities and fraternities began over two centuries ago as a way for undergraduates to bond as ‘sisters’ and ‘brothers’ and socialize through gender-segregated social organizations. In order to join, a student must pledge the fraternity or sorority and be selected and then admitted through an initiation process.

^5. Some fraternities and sororities have designated themselves as ‘dry’ organizations where alcohol is prohibited during all fraternal events and in official buildings.

^6. The mud-flap silhouette is a classic image depicting an hourglass-shaped woman's body and is commonly seen on the back of trucks and lorries in the United States. Mud flaps are rectangular guards located behind the rear wheels that protect debris from being thrown by the spinning tires.

^7. Traditionally, undergraduate programs in the USA are based on a four-year model. First-year students are called freshman, second year are sophomores, third year are juniors, and fourth year are seniors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julianne Weinzimmer

Julianne Weinzimmer is Associate Professor of Sociology at Wright State University. She studies social inequality, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and teaching and learning in sociology. She has published articles in Teaching Sociology and Sociation Today and has a book in the series, ‘The New Americans: Recent Immigration and American Society.’

Sarah Twill

Sarah Twill is Professor of Social Work at Wright State University. Her research interests include juvenile justice sentencing and treatment, and student success. She has published in several journals, including Child Youth Care Forum, Advances in Social Work, and School Social Work Journal.