Divisive stereotypes
RE “Gender Bender,” Nov. 11:
Most of the people who read this article have no idea who I am, but you may have seen me walking down McCormick Road in jeans, a t-shirt, and Converses. That’s right, not “Jack Rogers sandals” or a “Barbour jacket”. In fact, I don’t even know what either of those are. Does that mean I am not a female U.Va. student? No.
This is not say that Abby Costner didn’t make a good point in her article about the differences between guys and girls at U.Va., but something needs to be said about the fact that there are other people that go here than the proverbial “Frat Boy” and “Sorority Girl.” We’ve all seen it: The hoards of girls in v-neck white shirts and Nike running shorts walking to class. The frat bros in khaki shorts, polo shirts and backwards hats. But does anyone ever take a minute to look at all of the other people on the crowded sidewalks? Probably not. Sure, many U.Va. students look alike, but does that mean we are all the same? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Take my group of roommates, for example. We come from all different ethnic backgrounds and home towns. Sure, we share many of the same interests, but we all are involved in different things. I am an engineer, my roommates are pre-Comm and in the College. I am from New Jersey, they are from Maryland, Virginia, and Minnesota. Some of our extracurriculars are as follows: Bhangra, working at a vet clinic, Engineering Student Council, and Hoos for a Cure. We definitely do not appear to be the stereotypical U.Va. girls. But that doesn’t mean we don’t share some qualities of that lady Hoo. We get dressed up and go to football games. We go to frat parties. We love Take it Away. And coffee. We play endless games of Kings, and we are always looking for a good dance party.
So for all of you Wahoos out there that don’t fit that small mold of the typical U.Va. “Bro” or “Biddie”, you are not alone. Embrace it. I am going to walk around wearing my comfy Converses and watch the girls in high heels struggle to walk to class on the uneven brick. But next time you are walking in front of Cabell or down McCormick Road, take a look around. We are all different people. But there is a common thread here: We go to U.Va. We bleed blue and orange. So let’s take pride in that, instead of letting the stereotypes divide us.
Libby Engel
SEAS II
Bravo, Ms. Engel. Although stereotypes may be useful for guiding initial behavior in certain social situations, they do not define an individual. Keep it real.
-A much better breakdancer than that punk Kieran
I’m in a sorority. I wear chucks. I don’t know what Jack Rogers sandals are. So don’t group us into one homogenous group. You condescendingly remark that you wear “comfy Converses” to class but then make fun of sorority girls for wearing t-shirts and running shorts. What is a more comfy outfit than that? Sure, maybe at the end of the article you try to wrap it up and say that we should all be happy and individual and not “let stereotypes divide us” but that is only after you’ve said that an entire group of people is exactly the same and then made fun of them.
I don’t agree with “Gender Bender.” It is the worst article I’ve ever read in the Cav Daily. However, your response is a very short step up.
Dear Sorority Girl,
I think you missed the main point of Libby’s argument. She did not intend to make fun of sorority girls, but rather she is saying that we cannot put people in homogeneous groups such as “sorority girls” and “UVa biddies” because there will always be girls in these groups that do not fit these stereotypes. She is saying that she wears jeans,and comfy Converses because it makes more sense than wearing what the stereotypical sorority girl would wear,running shorts, when it is cold outside or high heels to class. If you are a sorority girl that follows these stereotypes then you should ask your self if you wear shorts in the cold because you find it comfortable or is it due to self-fulfilling prophecy. On the other hand if you don’t fit the stereotype, then you should be proud and we should not let labels or groups divide us.
I got what Libby was trying to say. At the end of the article, she was attempting to say that we shouldn’t follow stereotypes–as I clearly already wrote in my last post if you read it. However, she said this after making fun of sorority girls and claiming that they all wear the same thing. Does that sound like not judging based on stereotypes to you? No. Her response was pretentious and contradictory and so is yours.
In fact, in my experience the people at this school who seem to be most concerned about stereotypes are people like you who look down on sororities and judge them (“On the other hand if you don’t fit the stereotype, then you should be proud”). None of my friends in my sorority walk around saying “Oh my god look at that girl wearing converses. She is such a punk. They all dress the same and think that they’re so much better than everyone else at this school.” You tell me to ask myself why I wear running shorts, well why do you wear the things you wear? Why does libby wear chucks? Is it because she feels different and edgy and original? Honestly, I don’t know or care about the answer to that. But I don’t go around talking about her or her friends.
I know what Libby was doing. She was trying to make a point about stereotypes. Too bad it was right after she had just put down and judged a group of my best friends.
You still don’t understand. She is not saying that “we shouldn’t follow stereotypes” she is saying that there are people out there that are sorority girls that don’t fit that stereotype. I acknowledge the fact that you understand that she is trying to unite us but she is not making fun of a group of people she is simply stating a stereotype and saying that many people don’t fit this stereotype, and that is okay. And although I did say that you should be proud even if you don’t fit the stereotype, what I mean by this is that u should be proud to be yourself. Also I did not put down what you wear, I asked if you were wearing them because you wanted to, or because of self-fulfilling prophecy and you just want to fit in –as I clearly already wrote in my last post if you read it.
She was not saying that there are sorority girls that don’t fit the stereotype, she was saying there are other girls at UVA that aren’t in sororities and don’t dress like “sorority girls” (in those oh-so-terrible nike shorts). She acted like everyone in a sorority dresses the same and people who aren’t in one are so original. And you, by asking if I wear what I wear just to fit in you are assuming that because I’m in a sorority there’s a better possibility that I have no originality and just want to fit in. Once again making assumptions about sororities. Does anyone ever ask you that? And not making fun of sorority girls? Did you just skip over certain parts of her post? :
“We’ve all seen it: The hoards of girls in v-neck white shirts and Nike running shorts walking to class. The frat bros in khaki shorts, polo shirts and backwards hats. But does anyone ever take a minute to look at all of the other people on the crowded sidewalks? Probably not.”
“I am going to walk around wearing my comfy Converses and watch the girls in high heels struggle to walk to class on the uneven brick.”
Great letter, Libby!
You said basically what I just responded to the original article. Those brawny tools and mindless whores walking around Rugby Road (kidding guys, kidding) do not define U-Va., as two-thirds of the student body chooses not to join fraternities and sororities. The rest of the students don’t generally wear that status symbol sh!t.
You and I may have made the same mistake of stereotyping the frat life, but let’s face it everyone: fraternities and sororities EMBRACE CONFORMITY TO SOCIAL NORMS in most every case (with the possible exception of SERP, in my day anyway). If anyone thinks that is not true, show me the “goth frat” on Rugby Road in which piercings and mohawks are more common than polo shirts and calf implants.
Ben
CLAS 1999