Great expectations and post-feminist accountability: negotiating femininity in a modern day sorority

Abstract

The purpose of study was to understand how femininity is produced within historically white sororities. In order to achieve this understanding, participants’ experiences were analyzed through a qualitative lens informed by post-feminism and girls’ studies. Drawing theoretically from Anita Harris’ discourse of girl power (or the can-do girl) and Angela McRobbie’s (2009) post-feminist concepts of double entanglement, post-feminist masquerade, and ‘the perfect’; the construction of femininity, was explored within the context of sorority membership. Specific attention was given to the effort required, of sorority members with formal leadership experience, to interpret, negotiate, reproduce, and resist femininity. The goal of this study was to provide a more complex understanding of sororities and their members. Since this is an initial study, limitations were discussed as well as recommendations for future study. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries