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To Seek The Good, The True, And Beautiful: White, Greek-Letter Sororities In The U.S. South And The Shaping Of American 'Ladyhood,' 1915--1975, Margaret Lynn Freeman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This dissertation examines the role of white, Greek-letter sororities in the creation and enforcement of standards for white women's behavior during the twentieth century. While sororities at white, southern universities first served as supportive networks for the few female students on newly coeducational university campuses, I argue that they transformed into spaces that promoted "heterosocial" activities and enforced members' heteronormativity through "lessons of 'ladyhood" and required attendance at fraternity parties and participation in heterosexual dating. as a means to guarantee their popularity among students on their respective campuses, sorority chapters sought the attention of the campuses' fraternity elite. This national …