Sororities more interested in badges and Fraternities more interested in COA?
 

After spending hours reading many of the posts on here regarding badges and COA's it seems that sorority members are much more interested and ebullient in their discussions about badges...their own, other sorority badges and even fraternity badges. While there doesn't seem to be any ways near the discussion from the fraternities about badges, and probably more interest in the coat of arms.

Does anyone else see this difference? I seem to think it is perhaps due to the fact that the ladies see the badges as jewelry, while the men see them as symbols of membership more than anything else.

Purc

Maybe, but I don't like generalizations.

Personally I have an equal academic interest in heraldry and badges.

I agree with you and I am also very interested in the heraldry especially understanding the cryptic blazon descriptions of the COA's. I am also very interested in the paths that different images have taken from the early formation of the organizations and the subsequent images the founders and early member developed to create a "brand" of their organization.

Me too.

It's certainly true that most (though certainly not all) of the regular posters in the big badge thread are female. Perhaps that has to do with the theme in that thread of badges as jewelry? Meanwhile, guys like stuff having to do with fighting and armory. :D

I don't know.

Um, putting a toe in the water to say that while I am a frequent poster on BadgeTrends, I lurk on the COA thread because I am in the learning stages on that topic. It is a subject that I find very interesting, yet somewhat confusing, and I am reluctant to post or ask questions.

Consider the variety and variation in fraternity and sorority badges; there's much that can easily generate conversation, whereas with COA, the discussion seems to revolve around details that are somewhat more esoteric (MysticCat, did I do good on that vocabulary word?).

So please keep talking about COA and heraldry and brands. Good stuff, IMO.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...oce5NgVT_mBxU=

Is there a CoA-specific thread I'm forgetting?

^^^LOL

Maybe the Crest vs. CoA thread: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ight=coat+arms

or this very old one: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...at+arms&page=4

I thought about that one, but AzTheta's post gave me the impression she's referring to a currently active thread. Maybe I inferred more than intended.

YES! I got a gold star from MysticCat. I am now the envy of agzg. Ha! Let's see: Gusteau is saving me opal badge photos, MysticCat gives me a gold star... woohoo!

And not a specific thread, but the ones cited; I'm happy to sit and listen (read) to whatever you all want to share or discuss.

Back to learning...

Maybe we need to start a new CoA-specific thread? Like AzTheta said, esoteric information can make elements of CoAs hard to talk about (though the same is true for badges), but it could be a place to post pictures showing the development of CoAs or uses of CoAs in different ways.

What do you think?

I vote yes please. Maybe you could pop over to Badge Trends and ask there? Bet you'd get a positive response and interest.

I get questions all the time from the actives about Theta history; and I would like to be able to talk about ALL GLO history, not just Theta. I'm very interested in COA/heraldry. I have a sweet story about a man and his COA ring, from my distant past. Sigh.

My thoughts on the OP's question: We have a few fraternity men on this site who are very interested in heraldry. I would consider them to be heraldry buffs, or realistically heraldry gurus. They also happen to be some of the key male representation on the badge trends thread. Perhaps it's a coincidence, or perhaps those fraternity men who are most interested in history are also interested in heraldry and badges due to their historical nature. Some of the sorority women are there for history, and some just like pretty shiny (opal) things. Many fall into both categories.

Personally I love evolution- that's why I majored in anthropology. Not just biological evolution, though... I love cultural evolution. How we got from Point A to Point B. The badges are a great representation of that journey. You can examine clasps, lettering style, enameling, quality, gold color, shape, size, engraving style & content... the list goes on. THAT is what I most love about badges, the evolution through time.

One of my favorite badges is also one of my plainest, and not that old. It's a plain gold key from 1947, but it is in the most stunning & subtle shade of rose gold. I've seen some other pins from that era in a similar color. That blip in time had a different gold color, which represents the resources available then. Love it.

So yes, I think change has a lot to do with it. I wish more fraternity men were engaged in the badge trends thread because many of their fraternities are older than our sororities, and thus have that much more history to share. However, my guess is some men shy away because it's jewelry talk (my husband could care less about his badge), and there are also fewer active male posters here. There probably isn't any single right answer here.

I'm all for a COA thread though- for heraldry discussion (drool on, MC and Gusteau!) and maybe to post cool COA items. I have a few items I could share, if I can get around to posting pictures.

[wow I'm long-winded today]

I think this may be on, or near, target.

Maybe I'll start that CoA thread.

I'm one of the COA people...I love it...and history...LOVE IT, I have a wonderful collection of history books from a few sororities....and still searching for me...I have this sick (ok perhaps not) fascination with all things greek...

I think it's just too hard to discuss the heraldry in an open forum. The kite, key, quill, anchor, etc. probably all have secret meanings, but it can't be too far off the obvious. All of the little details in a crest or COA can mean a myriad of things. I did always think, however, that it would make more sense to TELL all the stuff, so the girls rushing could choose based on the primary principles of the organization, instead of finding out in the middle of the night 3 months later. I mean, who knew I was going to pledge a group of satan-worshipers? I guess I just got lucky. HA! ;}