Dress and the Social Construction of Gender in Two Sororities

Abstract

This study sheds light on dress as it is involved in the social construction of femininity, and in particular how sororities are engaged in this process. As institutions, the sororities in this study trained their members toward a traditional notion of femininity that was visually expressed in appearance. New sorority members (pledges) were actively involved in the social construction of gender as they adopted the sororities' idealized images and roles pertaining to femininity. Enculturation into a sorority began with adoption of the idealized images such as a sorority look. Pledges wanted to at least look like full-fledged members and alleviated status insecurity by adopting the idealized image as they embraced their roles. As competing roles emerged over time, full-fledged members substituted the sorority's idealized images for personal images. Adherence to the sororities' idealized images became a gender role obligation. Benefits of this study to textiles and clothing scholarship include a deeper understanding of the role of appearance in non-verbal communication and in informal social control.