Yes to bezique, no to aqueduct: A critical discourse analysis of how U.S. news covers sororities

ABSTRACT

College sororities in the United States recently have spent lavishly to produce professional-level recruitment videos in an effort to attract new members. The videos feature mostly white, blonde, and scantily clad women sunning by swimming pools, dancing on yachts, and blowing kisses to the camera. These young women were performing what Connell called emphasized femininity, an exaggerated feminine behavior in which women are rewarded for emphasizing playfulness, attractiveness, and sexuality. Yet these videos drew widespread scorn from mainstream newspapers. Informed by emphasized femininity and Jamieson’s double bind of femininity/competence, this critical discourse analysis found that mainstream media depictions did not reward sororities for their femininity, but instead protected and reinforced rigid gender boundaries by (a) stereotyping sorority members’ physical appearances; (b) ridiculing sororities’ traditions; and (c) shaming the women in these campus organizations. Ultimately, these findings provide updated insight into how the media contribute to America’s patriarchal structure.

KEYWORDS:

• emphasized femininity
• patriarchy
• sororities
• media

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. While it is beyond the scope of this paper, a race critique would be a valuable and welcome analysis when it comes to sororities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shane M. Graber

Shane M. Graber is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. He can be reached at [email protected]

Kelsey N. Whipple

Kelsey N. Whipple is a Ph.D. candidate and Jesse H. Jones Fellow at the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. She can be reached at [email protected]