Why Do People Hate on Frats & Preppiness in General?
Nowadays there seems to be this overall hatred amongst the majority of people (more so millennials) for people who are in frats and for people who dress 'preppy'. A lot of people seem to look down upon those in fraternities and make generalizations about those in frats such as being: douchey, privileged, arrogant, rich, etc. Now there seems to be many people on WSO that were members of a fraternity so make you could speak from personal experience? Personally, I do not see anything wrong with being in a fraternity or even dressing preppy. I am from the New England area (think MA, CT, NY, RI) and I dress 'preppy' to a degree. Now as an African-American male, I hear comments like, "whitest black guy", etc and I don't see how race should be linked to dressing well. Like I've never understood the issue with wanting to dress casual but nice at the same time. And I am sure many of you do as well or were raised in environments in which people dressed preppy. I believe the generalizations are incorrect as I have met many people who either were in frats, dress preppy, or both and are perfectly fine people. Thoughts on this?
*I know this isn't the greatest post in terms of writing as it was a couple of quick thoughts.
I think a lot of stems from the fact that the progressive left now sees straight, white, "privileged" men as the root of all evil. Fraternities and preppy suburban kids are both associated with these traits. Given that the media is overwhelmingly leftist, you end up seeing a lot of "hit pieces" in the media towards this group (Duke Lacrosse, UVA Rolling Stone) which have no basis in reality.
n/a
Maybe.
But I suggest visiting a campus in the South to see where the hate comes from. There's a LOT of frat guys down there who are thoroughly obnoxious.
The view is that if you are preppy you did not have to work hard and have it . For a few this may very well be true. However, all this bs comes to an end when you are out of school. Regardless of occupation people will normally perceive performance, skill and effort over the golden spoon. If they cannot they are probably sub par performers themselves. The media will always show an extreme example of the spoiled rich kid getting a light sentence or the frat on rape charges. People will then subscribe this as being the norm when it fits into their personal narrative. Truthfully, no one cares if you are wearing a nice sweater or dirty flannel when you are out and about. If they do, they are probably not worth your time.
Personally, I don't like them because of some of their antics (especially in the South). They have reputations for using roofies on girls (Pike). They have a lot of bad hazing rituals, which have had severe consequences. A lot are also openly racist (singing anti-black songs sae).
I feel like Greek life experience is dependent on the school. Some are more intense than others. While I do not approve of such behavior (and in fact despise it), I don't think that those incidents should be utilized as propaganda to further the idea that ALL fraternities are bad.
.
It's the lack of surprise or spontaneity that gets too me. How could a few percentage points of our entire population be so predictable?
I didn't really realize people hate on preppiness that much. Do people really hate on preps any more than they hate on skinny jean-wearing, flannel-clad hipsters? Now frats, I definitely see people hate on them a lot, and I think it's mostly because of the media, taking a few isolated instances and really sensationalizing them, which can conjure up a lot of sweeping generalizations about the organizations as a whole among people who don't know what they're talking about.
Yeah you'd be surprised. Although I believe this hatred is mainly amongst millennials though. I don't see this amongst older people.
OP do you have a pair of pink shorts?
Correct
because they're gay
Also tend to be very obnoxious born on 3rd base types (like the average target student)
People hate douches, big whoop
Pretty much every 18-23 old is a douchebag. So it's douchebags hating on douchebags
Because they have a lot of room in their cargo shorts to carry around all of that envy and bitterness - pay them no mind.
because they're geeds.
geeds hate great things, duh.
stay woke bro.
PS: speaking from experience, dark skin looks fantastic in pastel colors, so they're all just jealous.
I'll make the presumption that it is because some pledges weren't "cool" in high school and they feel the need to be excessive and portray the "fraternity image" that comes from movies and elsewhere in an attempt to now be cool. Then, like anywhere, the group will feed off each other and this image will only become more excessive and grow as they attempt to outdo their brothers. This will then only leak down into future classes as it becomes engrained in said fraternities culture. As an extension of the latter, some may begin acting out the stereotype as a joke so much so that it becomes their actual personality, then again begins the snowball effect. I feel this happens a lot at smaller universities, mine included, as individuals feel the need to compensate for their smaller Frat Row and University by competing with what they believe goes on at larger schools. Dressing preppy, in general, is often associated with fraternities, and people do judge books by their cover.
That last part about smaller universities I feel like is true. I will be attending a smaller university and we do not have any Greek houses so that snowball effect is possible.
Speaking from experience you can get laid for just being in a top tier frat at a good school.
Also job hookups at a good school. It attracts white males who are usually more well off.
More money = bigger houses = better parties = girls come over
Breeds hate
True, went to a school where Greek Life was a major deal and you had legitimately ugly out of shape guys with hot girls because of being in a good fraternity. Not too sure about the job hookups, most went on to work in the service industry or get a sales job but it wasn't common for one to end up in Wall Street or Consulting.
All the guys came from rich families though, you were vetted based on how much your parents made lol.
Did you go to a SEC school?
I honestly don't care if people hate on fraternities, I had a blast in mine and still hang out with my pledge brothers weekly, other people's opinions don't matter.
My fraternity was more like a gang than an actual group of bros. We had all kinds of members from all walks of life, and I don't mean that in the cool multicultural kind of way. One of the members was from Liberia where he was a child soldier and killed people at 13. One was an actual gang member, but white. We had a bunch of athletes, soccer, swimming, lax, etc. 50% were surround state guys who mostly wore the same thing, but not "preppy". I myself am typically preppy but I wear dad clothes now, shorts or jeans with t-shirt or "polo".
There was a frat known for date-raping girls. I don't get it, no idea how that is enjoyable to anyone but there were accounts of girls after 2-3 beers feeling woozy etc. But I don't see what's wrong with a bunch of guys living together throwing fun parties, meeting huge groups of girls, but I don't my school was the typical one when you think of movie frat guys. We were an underground frat after having lost our charter for partying too hard, yes double secret probation is a thing.
One of my greatest fraternal achievements was being on the exec that got us moved up to probation after 4-5 years of being "this close" to getting kicked off.
As someone who had a lot of friends in fraternities but to some degree dislikes Greek Life, I'll give my honest opinion as to why.
While Greek Life might mean community and brotherhood/sisterhood to some, it is pretty much a spoiled kids gathering group that brings high school popularity contests on to every college campus. A lot of the fraternity brothers in the "important" house on campus are there because they were born to wealthier families and feel the need to throw their trust fund baby lifestyle in the faces of everyone. I'll admit, a lot of that has to do with envy as well kind of like how people hate that one guy who shows off how rich he is to everyone.
The problem is, most college kids cannot afford to live the party hard hedonistic lifestyle that Greek Life attempts to portray as normal for college. At a lot of schools, frats have a monopoly on this lifestyle so if you are not a part of one, you don't really get to live it. Fraternities also boast about this very thing, being better than the "geed" who didn't come from a privileged family while failing to understand that they can drink hard and party hard because they are on daddy's money.
Imagine being a poor or even middle class kid who finally got the chance to go to college and get an education only to realize that you're "lame" because you're not a part of some exclusive social group that uses that time to consume lots of alcohol and sleep with willing (or unwilling) college girls. Being mocked by privileged kids who use college to party hard and show off how they are better than you because they had wealthier parents.
Leaving high school, thinking the Mean Girls type of social politics are long gone only to see that Greek Life has not only brought them back but created a college environment which is practically high school popularity contests on steroids.
So there you have it, that is why most people hate fraternities and Greek Life in general, want them gone, and feel that the American college experience would be better off without them. You can say that those "geeds" are being haters and you would actually be right, but I was simply showing you why most people cannot stand fraternities.
Now if these were self-made men who were partying hard and sleeping with random women, the hate would not be as present because they aren't doing that due to being on daddy's money.
Lol, wrong. The hate would still be there from the weak who have no shot with there women. The fact that they are self made has nothing to do with it. Its petty envy and everything else is a bullshit rationalization
It's the haves vs. the have nots. If people cannot belong to the cool group, they tend to disparage it.
Joining a fraternity was one of the best decisions I've ever made. All jokes aside, take away the booze, the parties, the upper echelon frattire, and the huge amount of puss that's thrown at us, what do you have left? A life-long brotherhood with guys who, by the way become bankers, lawyers, doctors, politicians, judges, CEO's and some of the other most influential positions in society.
At the end of the day, it's always a bad idea to listen to people's advice on subjects they have zero experience in. Don't let GDI's inform you on the way of fraternity life. If you enjoy something like dressing preppy and being a fraternity man, who gives a shit what anyone else thinks.
That actually makes little to no sense.
Greek Life at most top schools is lackluster (girls are generally uglier and people are not as fun), the wild Greek Life is at big state schools with lower admissions standards. The vast majority of frat guys do not go on to work on Wall Street, they usually work in your run of the mill business roles.
As for the huge amounts of puss, that is only the reality for the top 2 or 3 houses on campus, the rest have to work for it or drastically lower their standards.
You sound just like every geed that went to my uni.
clueless and bidless
People have been making fun of frats and preppiness for a long time. The official prep handbook or whatever it's called is a satire.
I think at heart what bothers people is how insular and self-important the thing is. Coming from Europe the whole preppy "lifestyle" is hard to take seriously, and people from different walk of life aren't necessarily laughing at your madras shorts and loafers out of envy (and I do love my bass weejuns).
This thread absolutely tickled me given the venue in which it's being discussed. One could swap in the word "finance" for every time the word "frat" appears and it would read pretty much the same (minus the date rape references maybe). Presuming the majority of the posters here work in finance, try not to throw stones in glass houses guys, or at least be able to appreciate the irony in doing so
Finance and frat are very different.
MOST guys who made it in finance made it by the virtue of their brains, work ethic, and actually having the charisma to get others to like them.
Most guys who get into frats only get in because they had rich parents.
Assuming you aren't trolling...
Your assertions, 1) that a majority of males in finance "made it" by merit, and 2) that the majority of males in fraternities got in by coming from above-average wealth, are entirely anecdotal.
Back those assertions empirically and I will A) concede that you have made some kind of point, and B) appreciate the enlightenment you have granted us. Otherwise, kindly GTFO and take your blanket statements with you. I suspect you will fail in that undertaking but please try and prove me wrong. Thx
This post is an example of the disconnect between social classes and education levels in the US. I admit I am biased against people based on the way they dress because that absolutely is indicative of social class. Although I try not to judge people based on wealth, it does happen.
I personally go to private college and am the first in my family to do so, and I have no finance experts to look to. Those kids in the frat - I see them, they have it made. I think although it is not entirely fair this creates animosity.
Thoughts on historically black fraternities (i.e. kappa alpha psi, phi beta sigma)? They definitely don't fit the projection portrayed, they also have vast representation on wall street, hollywood, and in professional sports.
Never thought much about historically black fraternities as it seems that they are more common down South and at bigger schools. But as far as I can tell they don't appear to fit the typical fraternity stereotype (I could be very wrong though).
I did not want to get spanked by another 21 year old.
It really pissed me off as an independent UG that I made the effort to work out regularly, dress presentably and drove a new BMW and girls would rather hook up with some fat fuck who dresses like a 50 year old and drives a POS pickup just because he's in a frat.
does your linkedin title say: "aspiring elliot rodger"
Lmfao
lol
Not even joking here when I say personality goes a long fucking way. Newsflash: its not just a social tool for fat chicks.
They are mad that they see their girlfriend leave our place in the morning with nothing but her shoes from last night in her hand and a long white t shirt that she borrowed as she gets in the taxi.
On dressing Nice: Its just jealousy, if you're dressed better than someone they automatically assume you're doing better than them and it makes them more comfortable to rationalize their own internal feeling of inferiority by assuming you don't deserve it or that you're a douche that didn't have to work for it. I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I legit dress like a homeless person outside of the office and I love it. I'm sure people assume I'm either at or below their level but they can get fucked, lets compare tax returns. "Women lie, men lie, numbers don't lie." -Alexander Hamilton 1802
Love it.. do the same thing.
Cause frats are filled with closet homos with um...appendage issues.
deleted
I was in an academic honors fraternity. It was so wild. We went to recruiting functions and did charity work. Wooooo
because they're geeds
One bad person, incident, group, accident, etc. is pumped with steroids and packaged by the media to define an entire group of people. Duke lax story that was debunked originally painted a terrible picture for lacrosse athletes, pledges dying at the hand of a negligent frat chapter made frats look irresponsible and dangerous, a police officer giving Freddie gray a "rough ride" furthered a distrust between police officers and minorities. Stereotypes are everywhere, the way to stop them from spreading is to stop talking about them altogether
TFTC these GDI pussy fucks
I'm honestly surprised FratLord hasn't weighed in on this yet.
Same haha. Especially considering the fact that it's on the front page too.
p
They simply hate us cuz they aint us. Typical GDIs.
Stopped in to get ToxicMasculinityThreadBrah's take on this; left disappointed.
who gives a shit, doesn't any of this shit matter in real life? No. Are you all 12?
Who hit me with monkey shit 6 times for no reason? Ffs.
Fraternities, Finance, Hollywood, the Elevator Industry, etc. are all examples of smaller groups with a distinct culture from the large population. You can't fit in everywhere and I don't know why you would want to or care to. Do whatever makes you happy and spend less time worrying about what other people are doing that doesn't make you happy.
Being preppy is great. Guys hate it because they don't know how/can't be fratty or preppy. Girls that hate it are ugly or social justice warriors.
If you were actually in a fraternity you wouldn't give a shit about what SJWs think of your clothes.
cause u gay and not even for pay
I view frats and the people who hate frats the same way I see the alt-right and antifa...and generally they are sort of the same type of people, in a broad sense.
I can't stand anyone that chooses group identity over individual identity. I have probably an unusually strong individualist streak compared to many, but I'm of the mind that anyone that IDs with a group first and as their own person second is contributing to the problem we currently see in society - extreme division, tension, using group ideology as a sledgehammer against everyone else.
When I was in school I chose against being in a frat because in each one, there were a handful of people I liked, and the rest were insufferable in one way or another. And I'll be damned if I'm going to pay money and follow yet another set of rules just to be forced to associate with a group that's 70/30 people I dislike. I was practically an honorary member at 3 of them, but I simply had no desire to be included with the larger group.
Again, I may be in the minority here, but that's always how I've thought, and it continues to be the case. I didn't see anything I'd get out of it. Free association is important, I didn't see how forgoing that would further me as a person. After all, I got to go to any party I wanted and hang out with anyone I wanted to anyway, because they enjoyed hanging out with me as a person and not because I was a part of their group.
I tend to think that's a better way to go through life than leaning on "identity politics" as it were. Even in greek life, there's plenty of that, nearly got several orgs kicked off of my campus. All for nothing other than petty dick-measuring. Rather pointless, I think.
The same applies to the "anti-frat" hipsters - they all subscribe to a group ideology too. As a whole, I dislike them even more but I think most of us get why that may be so there's no use in talking about it.
When a person loves something, but that feeling is unreturned, it usually evolves into hate.
This is true for frats, sororities, politicians, lovers, wives, etc etc.
edit
I'm not sure why most people hate on this culture from the outside, but from being in it for years there are a lot of things that I dislike. The main thing though is the culture of having to impress with accolades, achievements, and clout that seems to be so pervasive. Not everyone I've met in frats and professionally have been like this, however I always seem to find myself being asked who I know, or what I do to grant me access to whatever event I'm at in a competitive manner, rather than out of interest. This may be a misguided attempt at networking, however, I've encountered the same type of person asking the same type of questions on so many occasions that I don''t think that that is the case. Also not too into the fashion, suiting is one thing, but those salmon shorts man. I can never get behind those.
Little fun fact for you gentlemen:
Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men. 85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity.
Mic drop
Now I see what women mean by the whole glass ceiling thing. How many sorority women do we have up there?
Voluptatibus modi voluptas fugiat velit dolor cupiditate. Dignissimos sit culpa autem.
Sed facilis et voluptatem. Iste eligendi temporibus ab totam. Occaecati repudiandae ut vitae distinctio et.
Magnam eligendi hic harum pariatur ex. Vel quas doloribus est assumenda illo dignissimos. Fugiat possimus sed sit autem cumque facilis rerum. Aut rem unde aut vitae saepe.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Aspernatur qui quod quia animi dolorum. Non libero mollitia quas sit.
Voluptatem sequi architecto sequi atque. Quia eligendi nulla quia aut est. Esse animi iste nemo veniam. Et sit nihil quidem mollitia mollitia omnis.
Molestiae explicabo deserunt eveniet non consequatur. Eius atque repudiandae libero. Aut tenetur temporibus dolores. Quidem dolores aut consequatur enim voluptates ea fugiat. Repudiandae et blanditiis ut omnis nobis.
Qui deserunt neque vitae consequatur est. Praesentium iste rerum nostrum dolores nam sunt nobis distinctio. Sint ut recusandae porro iusto recusandae cupiditate. Quibusdam autem in excepturi nihil ut et voluptates.
Tenetur nihil quis autem. Velit veritatis mollitia sed earum voluptatem aut.
Sunt aut dolorum voluptas dolores ut quia quos. Qui ducimus molestias sed nemo quisquam et illum.
Est nulla quia repellendus et itaque aliquid. Et qui excepturi nam modi voluptatem. Est modi et quia non ut. Ea in consequuntur aut est maiores sit optio.
Illum sunt a eligendi aperiam veritatis fugit. Et itaque natus mollitia eius dolores. Quo tempore doloremque occaecati. Quis fuga ducimus fugit.