Literature Review #2: LGBTQ Greek Life

WELTER, EMILY. "College Greek Life: Perceptions and Lived Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Queer (LGBTQ) Students." Journal of the Indiana Academy of the Social Sciences 15 (2012).

Author: Emily Welter; student at Butler University 

Summary: A look into how LGBTQ students at a small private Midwestern university view Greek life and reversely how they fell they're perceived by Greek communities. 

Key Terms: 
Stereotyping - Many homosexual students, including those who are part of a Greek community and those who aren't, let their preconceptions of sororities and fraternities to influence their decision to join one or not. Most agreed that the more negative stereotypes stuck. 
Heterosexism: the convenience of being a heterosexual male in a social setting


There're a lot of rumors and gossip surrounding Greek organizations, especially about what they do or how they think of others. This would obviously influence how potential members would decided to rush or not. Interestingly enough, in a small Midwestern university, the general consensus around campus is that male homosexuality is not considered detrimental to his rush process. The interviewees would repeatedly make references to "a specific homosexual Greek fraternity president," describing him as "the best poster gay [they] have [at the university]... [who] was great for the school" (128). On the other hand, female homosexuality was much less known, to the point "the majority of the male respondents... could not think of one female lesbian or bisexual in any sorority n campus" (126). Females tend to be stuck with more latent stereotypes while male homosexuality is somehow becoming more "normative," thus making them more acceptable to the majority of Greek life which seems to thrive off normalcy. In the terms of a lesbian interviewee, "in society... gay men are looked at like every girl wants to be their best friend... nobody wants a lesbian best friend" (127). 
This article wasn't so much about what about type of "people" join which type of Greek organization but more along the lines of what about Greek life attracts and repels a specific (albeit general) group of students. Greek life brings about a sense of normalcy to many people, giving them a concrete social group as well as a regulated life. But that normalcy depends on how much that person fits in with the majority of, if not the actual fraternity or sorority, but the outside social demographic. According to this article, it would seem that male homosexuality is on the rise while female lesbians are still struggling with general acceptance and approval from their peers.