It doesn't Stop in High School, Body Image Problems Continue

In the article “The Sorority Body-Image Problem”, Catherine Mitchell from North Carolina describes the harsh criticism and negative effects of selfimage judging caused by sororities. Catherine received only one offer from the 10 sororities she put in for. As she confirmed her choice she cried. From the beginning she had felt that sorority life was not for her. She states that she was constantly judged for her weight which she had always been comfortable with before college. Frequently matching uniforms were chosen for rush. These outfits were often ones she could not wear. The author was put on kitchen duty or put somewhere out of sight during rush. During sorority inspections “ a state pageant-queen-turned-image-consultant came to our house to give us a crash course on proper femininity… she proceeded to critique our appearances and make recommendations. ‘My husband won’t even look at me if I walk around without my makeup on...’ right before she encouraged us to buy the new products in her personal makeup line.” The article states that research shows that women with higher BMIs have a bad experience sometimes even before joining a sorority. “They report more negative feelings during rush.” Studies have also shown that sorority membership have a negative effect on eating behavior and correlate with eating disorders.”

This article was extremely interesting. Sorority situations have always been disturbing. In movies and stories girls will line you up in your bra and panties and circle your fat in red marker. That seems a bit much. When we come out of the movie world it seems equivalent to what's occurring in real life. Mitchell states, “I’ve always had issues with my weight, but I had always done what I wanted to do, regardless of what my body looked like. My sorority put my positive body image to the test.” What does this say about the impact of “sisters” on each other in a sorority? This is no different than discrimination of skin color or religion. Girls with different traits are given different treatment. Whether this treatment be positive or negative; why are girls treated differently because of the way they look. Does discrimination effect most college decisions? Not only inside the sorority but out? In the case of Fisher vs. Texas one student was not accepted while another was when she had a lower GPA. The student was not accepted even though she had better grades and was involved in more activities. Her argument was that she was not accepted because she was white. How does discrimination hurt student experiences? Students like Catherine state, “What I didn’t know was how stressful and demoralizing the experience would be…” What can be done to limit the discrimination caused in college?