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

only women, all with varying opinions. Specifically, sororities have standards and policies that
may conflict with the preconceived ideas that freshmen, as well as others, have concerning
sorority life. Many young women enter the sorority culture thinking that it is primarily a social
environment. Few truly understand the responsibility of being in a sorority when they join. If a
woman is at Gilligan’s Level 1, then she may be in direct conflict with the goals of the sorority.
She may strongly perceive the sorority to be different than what it is.
Based upon my observations and experience, once a sorority woman has been through a
new member program, a transition into Gilligan’s Level 2 may occur. The new member program
is an orientation period to educate new women in the sorority on the history, purpose, and
structure of the sorority, expectations of membership, and building of relationships within the
group. Participants may want to be a part of the group so much so that they may, as Gilligan tells
us, "equate goodness with self-sacrifice and with pleasing or caring for others" (Muss, 1988 p.
234). Within the sorority culture, this level is where the possibility of such things as hazing could
take place. Because new members may want to prove themselves to others for fear of “criticism
and even abandonment” by the group, they do things that people ask them to do even when they
know that they may not be morally right. Level 2 could be a dangerous phase for sorority
participants. The young woman may see the sorority as a substitute for the family unit and may
expect caring to be a part of the experience. This may not be the case for all women. For others,
this could be the time that their commitment to the sorority begins in a positive way. They begin
to realize that they are becoming a part of something and can contribute to the organization.
Level 2 can be examined in the context of new members as well as in the context of a
majority of sorority members as well. If most women do not get to Level 3 according to Gilligan,
then it would be logical to assume that most sorority women do not ever get out of Level 2. At
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