In hopes of delving into the supposed “underworld” of Greek Life, Alexandra Robbins has gone undercover in the Greek system at a large university.
Robbins follows four girls from two sororities at a large university. The girls’ names have been changed, as have the names of their sororities and the name of their college. Vicki of Beta Pi and Sabrina, Caitlin, and Amy of Alpha Rho share their tumultous relationships and sorority gossip that Robbins ultimately hopes mirrors the lives of your typical sorority girl.
From date rape to binge drinking, hazing to formals, Robbins details the daily lives of these four women. In between her stories (titled by her subjects’ AIM away messages), Robbins offers statistics on various aspects of sorority life as well as real-life examples from Panhellenic sororities across the naiton.
Robbins began her research as a response to the the recent “expose” of MTV’s Sorority Life. She soon found that due to negative press from this and other Greek shows on television, the National Panhellenic Conference instituted a media blackout. Houses across the nation were instructed not to talk with her regarding any aspect of her book.
Due to the shutout, Robbins decided to go undercover, follwing these four women. She isn’t clear how a twenty-seven year old woman gained such unadulterated access without actually being a member of either of the two organizations she followed. One look at Robbins’ picture on the back cover, however, is enough to flash you back to the mean girls in junior high. It’s no shock she passed for nineteen at State U.
After a few pages, however, readers stop asking how and become wraped up in the soap opera of Sabrina, Caitlin, Amy and Vicki. While Robbins does her best to drop in her academic research on the subject of Greek Life, the book reads far more like trashy chick lit, and that is its sole appeal. This can be attricbuted to the book’s rough organization. Pieces of the four girls’ stories are interspersed with a few statistics on eating disorders and binge drinking. After about one hundred pages, you find yourself skipping her analysis and going straight for the continuing saga the relationship between Alpha Rho’s Sabrina and her creative writing professor.
There’s not a whole lot of “wow, I never realized that” in Pledged, save for a chapter revealing several national sororities’ secret handshakes and rituals, (and even this isn’t as interesting as the merry-go-round of men in the womens’ lives). Most of the so-called insight could be learned from listening in on a conversation at your local student union.
The most interesting academic portions of the book are Robbins’ comparisons between National Panhellenic Sororities and multicultural sororities. She details the varying goals of philanthropy versus fun in traditionally white sororities and African American or Latina sororities.
Overall, Pledged is a great summer beach read for both sorority women and independents alike. The book reads a bit like a soap opera with academic overtones, but the level of bitchery is salacious enough to keep you reading until the very end. And once the book is done,r eaders can catch up on their sorority vixens’ lives by visiting Robbins’ website, www.alexandrarobbins.com.
