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Fraternities

Chapter · January 2017

DOI: 10.4135/9781483384269.n

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Alan Reifman
Texas Tech University
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Final manuscript version. Official copy appears in the following source:

Reifman, A. (2017). Fraternities. In K. L. Nadal (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of

psychology and gender (pp. 584-585). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

FRATERNITIES

Fraternities are collectives of male students on U.S. college campuses. They have long had an air

of secrecy and exclusivity, due to how they select and initiate new members. Many of the oldest

fraternities were founded in the early-mid 19th century. The fraternity system has consisted

predominantly of white members, stemming in part from some fraternity charters (and some

entire universities) having official whites-only policies prior to the Civil Rights Movement of the

1960s. African-American fraternities, which remain part of contemporary college life, formed at

the beginning of the 20th century, some at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and

others elsewhere. Each fraternity has its own house (which hosts social functions and, in some

cases, contains living quarters for members) and name consisting of Greek-letter initials. An

estimated one-half million young men participate in fraternities annually. Fraternities appear to

be most common at state universities and larger private institutions. They, or analogous social

clubs, also exist in other countries; the present entry covers only U.S. fraternities, however.

Fraternities appear to make both positive and negative contributions to society and their

members’ development. On the positive side, fraternities appear to promote leadership,

volunteerism, and community activity. Networking opportunities with fraternity alumni may also

aid students’ occupational careers. On the negative side, fraternity members appear more likely

than other male college students to exhibit degrading attitudes and sexually aggressive behavior

toward women. Attitudes and behaviors linked to risk-taking and self-perceived invincibility also

appear to be relatively common among fraternity members. Several aspects of fraternity life,
possibly stemming from the group dynamics of all-male organizations, thus appear to raise

questions of gender-related attitudes and behavior.

Leadership

Many studies show fraternity participation to be linked to enhanced leadership skills. In

some studies, however, fraternity members’ enhanced leadership has been detected early in their

college careers and has dissipated by the senior year. As student-development scholars Michael

Hevel and Daniel Bureau have noted, expert conceptions of leadership shifted during the 1990s,

away from leadership styles based on power and control (traditionally considered stereotypically

masculine by some leadership researchers) to those placing greater emphasis on interpersonal

relationships and collaboration (seen as more stereotypically feminine). Because fraternities (and

sororities) are often run via hierarchical organization (e.g., being led by officers and committees,

as well as senior members playing a large role in selecting and initiating the newest members),

some question whether Greek-letter organizations provide the full breadth of leadership skills.

Unsupportive Attitudes and Aggressive Behaviors Toward Women

Fraternities have made headlines in recent years for allegations of sexual assault in their

houses and insensitive displays regarding sexual assault (e.g., signs saying “No Means Yes”).

Many universities have formed task forces to address sexual-assault prevention and fraternity

culture. These occurrences have naturally raised the issue of gender-related attitudes among

fraternities, both at the institutional level and among individual members.

According to some observers, fraternities can create extreme attitudes of masculinity in

their members (or accentuate such attitudes in those who already hold them) and promote

degrading attitudes toward women (e.g., “Bro’s before ho’s”). Sociologist Michael Kimmel

writes of a “Guy Code” that exists for many males between the ages 16-26 throughout society,
but with particular intensity within fraternities. The Guy Code is a belief system boys and young

men enforce among themselves, in which toughness is expected and any sign of emotional

vulnerability is punished. Research reviewed by Kimmel suggests that attitudes conducive to

sexual aggression toward women – and actual sexual aggression – are likely to be most prevalent

in all-male organizations (including, but not limited to, fraternities) whose members feel a sense

of “sexual entitlement” deriving from self-perceptions of one’s group as high-prestige.

Recent studies have compared gender-related attitudes of fraternity men and non-

affiliated male college students (sometimes also including comparisons with sorority women and

non-affiliated female students). Sarah Murnen and Marla Kohlman’s 2007 meta-analysis

(statistical aggregation) of multiple studies found statistically significant tendencies for fraternity

men to score higher on rape-myth acceptance and self-reported sexual aggression than did non-

affiliated men. A separate study published by Dianne Robinson and colleagues in 2004 assessed

participants’ responses to the Gender Attitude Inventory. Fraternity men exceeded the three other

groups studied (sorority women and unaffiliated men and women) on six out of 14 subscales

thought to measure gender stereotypicality: acceptance of traditional stereotypes; acceptance of

male heterosexual violence; endorsement of traditional family roles; rejection of female political

leadership; opposition to women’s rights; and belief in differential work roles. A statistical

association between fraternity membership and unsupportive (or even hostile) attitudes toward

women appears fairly clear. What is not clear, however, is whether fraternity participation may

have caused these attitudes, whether men already holding these attitudes may have been attracted

to fraternity life, or whether other factors could have led some men both to join fraternities and

hold attitudes unsupportive of women.

 Hostile and unsupportive fraternity attitudes and behaviors toward LGBT and racial-

minority students have also been observed. The experiences of LGBT students within fraternities

(whose members appear to be heavily heterosexual) have received increased attention in recent

decades. The Lambda 10 Project – National Clearinghouse for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,

Transgender Fraternity & Sorority Issues was started in 1995. Allegations continue to surface of

openly gay men being rejected for membership in fraternities and closeted members being

dismissed from fraternities after their sexual orientation was discovered. Some openly gay

members, however, report positive experiences in fraternity life. A 2015 incident in which

members of a University of Oklahoma fraternity were seen on video engaging in racist chants

during a group bus trip brought racial attitudes of some fraternities back into the national

spotlight. A Washington Post article on this incident noted that, even long after federal and

university non-discrimination policies were put in place, some fraternities have been slow to

allow minority members and incidents such as parties with racially stereotypical themes have

continued.

Risk-Taking and Self-Perceived Invincibility

A 2014 Atlantic Monthly article probed different areas in which fraternities have faced

lawsuits and how they have attempted to defend against them. Although allegations of sexual

assault and hazing-related injuries are perhaps the sources of potential liability that receive the

greatest public attention, fraternities also spend heavily on liability insurance related to falls from

upper floors of fraternity houses, assault and battery, and car accidents (frequently the result of

or aided by alcohol consumption). Such occurrences, along with other types of reported mayhem,

appear to map onto common youth-development concepts owing to David Elkind and others,

such as the perception of oneself as invulnerable (i.e., “young invincibles”) and risk-taking
 behaviors. In a 2014 study, Charles Corprew and Avery Mitchell found that fraternity members

averaged significantly higher on measures of disinhibition (i.e., sensation/thrill-seeking),

hypermasculinity, and sexually aggressive attitudes than their unaffiliated counterparts. These

authors suggest that these behaviors and attitudes may stem partly from self-perceived pressure

in college men, enhanced in fraternities, to live up to traditional standards of manhood.

Conclusions and Policy Implications

Many aspects of fraternity life appear linked to gender-related attitudes, including ones

unsupportive of women. A number of universities have formed task forces to prevent sexual

assault and other antisocial behavior, their scope varying from a focus on Greek-letter

organizations to treating them as one of many units on campus. Reports from these task forces

have included recommendations to address fraternity culture and social norms pertaining to

manhood, masculinity, and rape-supportive attitudes.

Alan Reifman

See also Gender Role Behavior; Sexual Assault; Sororities

FURTHER READINGS

Hevel, M. S., & Bureau, D. A. (2014). Research‐driven practice in fraternity and sorority

life. New Directions for Student Services, 2014, 23-36.

Kimmel, M. (2008). Guyland: The perilous world where boys become

men/Understanding the critical years between 16 and 26. New York: Harper.

Windmeyer, S. L., & Freeman, P. W. (Editors) (1998). Out on Fraternity Row: Personal

accounts of being gay in a college fraternity. Los Angeles: Alyson Publications.

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