Sorority Rituals - Reflections On Rites of ... - Mari Ann Callais

Kohlberg, and Tinto. The focus will then shift to research by Carol Gilligan, Margaret Eisenhart,
Mary Field Belenky and her colleagues, and others who have focused their studies specificially
on women. This section will establish how many women relate to one another in order to suggest
a context for understanding what the sorority experience provides to undergraduate women.
Understanding the developmental stages of young women is significant to this research study.
The research question focuses on the impact of ritual on the values and behaviors of
contemporary sorority women. It is necessary to understand where they are in their personal
development in order to understand how their sorority experience fits into this development. The
depth of their ability developmentally to associate the substance of ritual to their lives is an
important concept to evaluate when trying to ascertain the impact of ritual on their behavior and
values.
Having served as an advisor to both men’s fraternities and women’s sororities from 1991-
2001, I had the opportunity to witness first hand the differences between men and women and
their developmental processes. Research shows that some aspects of Greek experiences affect
women and men differently (Kuh & Arnold, 1992; Pascarella, et al., 1996; Pike & Askew, 1990;
Whipple, 1998). In their study on gender and values among Greek members, Testerman, Keim,
and Karmos (1994) found:
Males valued Conformity (allowing what is socially proper, correct and accepted) and
Leadership (being in charge of other people, having authority, or power over others) more
highly than women . . . Females value Support (being treated with understanding and
consideration, receiving kindness and encouragement from others, and Benevolence
(doing things for other people, sharing things with others, being generous) more highly
than males (Cited in Whipple, 1998, p. 3).
This statement illustrates the differences in the development of men and women and their
experience of Greek life. Sottile (1994) cautions that when examining student development:
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