"Sisterhood Is Powerful" by Prudence Mackintosh (Texas Monthly, Sept. 1976)

[Just interested]

I'll second that!!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

Just ordered both! I love Southern literature!

If you love Southern literature - and yes, I know what you mean - I recommend three of her other books. “Thundering Sneakers”, “Retreads” and “Sneaking Out”. All are quite funny.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by TSteven

If you love Southern literature - and yes, I know what you mean - I recommend three of her other books. “Thundering Sneakers”, “Retards” and “Sneaking Out”. All are quite funny.

It's not Retards! It's Retreads!

And I'm getting her trilogy for Zeta Daughter's MIL, who has 5 sons. It's incredibly funny!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by carnation

It's not Retards! It's Retreads!

And I'm getting her trilogy for Zeta Daughter's MIL, who has 5 sons. It's incredibly funny!

My apologies.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

Just ordered both! I love Southern literature!

Enjoy!

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

While "The Southern Belle Primer" is a fun and quick read, I'd consider William Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Southern literature. "The Southern Belle Primer" is as much Southern literature as "The Preppy Handbook" was for New England lit.

Yep...definitely not "literature"!

Originally Posted by Ladybugmom

I guess "literature" is the wrong word..however, I trust that you knew what I meant.... I appreciate the links Shirley!!

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by Eightisgreat

I for one, wish someone would actually revisit this article for Texas Monthy on the notion of how things change, but somethings stay the same. The classic "Big 6" may still be a force at UT, but the descriptions have certainly changed and from my observations, some houses love talking the big 6 talk, but don't really represent the image presented back when the article was written. (Although the High Schools and Camps may be important...the type of girl they are cranking out is very different...therefore making the chapters very different) Many people on GC say the Big 6 will always have influence on rush at UT but the fact remains if someone would actually write an article on how the houses really are today, maybe, just maybe UT rush could become a better experience because girls aren't made to believe what is not true. And then we can spend the next 30 years talking about that article.

If you've read Texas Monthly in the last 15-20 years, you'll understand that they wouldn't touch these with a 10 foot pole anymore. While I love Prudence's writing, TM wouldn't dare publish such a puff piece these days. The article that I started to link (an expose' into the fraternities and their hazing and image problems) is the sort of thing they'd be after. Not to say that Texas Monthly is all negative (I'm a 20 year subscriber) but they'd be looking for the story within the story these days.

[sigmadiva]

/slightly off topic/

Originally Posted by shirley1929

If you've read Texas Monthly in the last 15-20 years, you'll understand that they wouldn't touch these with a 10 foot pole anymore. While I love Prudence's writing, TM wouldn't dare publish such a puff piece these days. The article that I started to link (an expose' into the fraternities and their hazing and image problems) is the sort of thing they'd be after. Not to say that Texas Monthly is all negative (I'm a 20 year subscriber) but they'd be looking for the story within the story these days.

I used to buy TM because I really did enjoy the articles - they were fairly balanced and well written.

I've stopped buying TM because over the last few years the mag has turned to having more ads and fewer articles. I mean, for a while it seemed they were doing a Texas Super Lawyers spread every month!

So now I don't buy it unless there is an article I really want to read.

/back to topic


I enjoyed the Mackintosh article. I had heard about the UT "Big Six" but never knew the exact chapters.

I do recall reading somewhere about Kay Bailey Hutchinson doing something, and the person replied, "Are you surprised, she was a Pi Phi from UT." Now I know why that statement was said.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

/slightly off topic/
I've stopped buying TM because over the last few years the mag has turned to having more ads and fewer articles. I mean, for a while it seemed they were doing a Texas Super Lawyers spread every month!

So now I don't buy it unless there is an article I really want to read.

SO true! They're smart as a fox to create ways to make money, but it is annoying. I've (mentally) threatened to cancel my subscription on several occasions, but there's always at least one good article each month and that keeps me going...

[Eightisgreat]

The problem with the current PNMs reading this article today (and it comes up pretty quickly on any search for UT sororities) is that it is a catalyst for some disappointing recruitments. Is it not human nature to not want to be the girl with the gold bangle? But the article does not paint the picture of UT sororities today. When the Texas Legislature passed the Top 10% rule and then later revised that specifically targeting UT and tightening the auto admit numbers to a percentage that would be 75% of the entering freshman class (8% for the Class of 2015 and 9% for the class of 2016) it dramatically shifted the pool of girls that attend UT, and therefore shifted the dynamic of the PNMs. It was not good enough to be a top notch cheerleader, active volunteer and average student. You needed to be academically superior…top 10% to even get a date to the big dance. Houses that continue to target ABC High School, can still get the cheerleaders, debs and dancers from that school if the girl was in the top 10% or was granted admission from holistic review. But because of the top 10% rule, girls gaining admission on holistic review are down dramatically, and without stereotyping, most girls that are top 10% are a mix of every type of extracurricular out there. But my point is that fabulous HS ABC is not sending their entire cheer squad to UT and they are certainly not sending all the debs either. Because of this, the typical “look” that used to come from these schools has shifted and therefore the culture and “look” of each house (all houses, Big 6 included) has changed.

UT has attracted dynamic and deep resume loaded women who can’t be forced into a mold. But when PNMs go through recruitment with this article in mind and with posts on GC that the Big 6 are still in play (and of course they are still in play, but in no way do they resemble the stereotypes in this article) they have a twisted sense of what they think the perfect sorority will be. (And we all know no house is perfect)

So Suzy PNM pledges a Big 6 only to find out that her “must have Big 6” is on academic probation and their social calendar is highly restricted because the chapter GPA is bottom of the barrel. (She is shocked because how can a Big 6 have one of the lowest GPAs??) She has never read about that, but like I said, the rules have changed, but no one is willing to talk about that…it just seems so easy to talk about the way it used to be. And then Amy PNM also pledges her “must have Big 6” only to find out that this group of women who on paper are class acts (you know they were all raised that way…) behave in ways that embarrass her and in a million years she just can’t figure out how that can be. Then Brooke PNM who followed her heart and was not pressured to believe the Big 6 is all that and a bag of chips; finds a true sisterhood, in an academically excellent chapter and loves that her house focuses on excellence instead of slamming everyone else to appear better. No one can say one house is better than the other. To PNMs perception is reality until they get inside and realize some of this just a mirage.

A writer who is willing to get down and dirty about UT recruitment will find some Big 6 houses rely on their reputations and age old descriptions of who they are….or maybe who they wish they were, while other Big 6 chapters are far better than that TM article says they are. And for the houses that aren’t even mentioned, as if they don’t deserve a column inch, that is where much of the treasure of UT is buried.

[jenidallas]

Originally Posted by Eightisgreat

A writer who is willing to get down and dirty about UT recruitment will find some Big 6 houses rely on their reputations and age old descriptions of who they are….or maybe who they wish they were, while other Big 6 chapters are far better than that TM article says they are. And for the houses that aren’t even mentioned, as if they don’t deserve a column inch, that is where much of the treasure of UT is buried.

Very well stated. I find here in Texas some of the stereotypes for some schools (UT, Tech, TCU, SMU) run deep and ancient. I remember being in high school and told which sororities were "acceptable" when I was 14 or 15 - not by older girls, but by women in their 30s, 40s, 50s. There seems to be a lot of "living in the past" but some of these women wield a LOT of influence over the PMNs (and more so, their mothers) with the insistence that what sorority a woman ends up in will ultimately greatly affect her future ability to do well socially, romantically, and financially.

[DubaiSis]

It did seem weird to me that there was almost no mention at all that there even WERE any other chapters. A person would have to read carefully to catch that, and the outsider would never guess that there were more than 15 chapters at the time of her experience and the time of writing. You might guess that there were 2 or 3 bottom of the barrel chapters, but 10?

The point is it is a very interesting, engaging story, and I'm sure the author never intended to insinuate there were only 6 chapters worth joining at UT. But because the article is so entertaining, that is what she inadvertently did.

And what fun is there in talking about the "Middle Six" that make quota every year, get the girls they want and don't have to live up to 50 year old reputations. It certainly wouldn't be an article worth discussing 30 years later. It would go something like this, 1000 girls went through rush. The Middle Six chapters worked very hard to prepare and spent hours and hours getting to know the girls going through rush. When the time came, some girls loved them, some girls hated them and some were just ok. They pledged 50 girls. The end. BORING. Or the story might describe how the Middle Six go through exactly the same hell the Big Six do, minus all the publicity. The End. BORING.

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

It did seem weird to me that there was almost no mention at all that there even WERE any other chapters. A person would have to read carefully to catch that, and the outsider would never guess that there were more than 15 chapters at the time of her experience and the time of writing. You might guess that there were 2 or 3 bottom of the barrel chapters, but 10?

The point is it is a very interesting, engaging story, and I'm sure the author never intended to insinuate there were only 6 chapters worth joining at UT. But because the article is so entertaining, that is what she inadvertently did.

And what fun is there in talking about the "Middle Six" that make quota every year, get the girls they want and don't have to live up to 50 year old reputations. It certainly wouldn't be an article worth discussing 30 years later. It would go something like this, 1000 girls went through rush. The Middle Six chapters worked very hard to prepare and spent hours and hours getting to know the girls going through rush. When the time came, some girls loved them, some girls hated them and some were just ok. They pledged 50 girls. The end. BORING. Or the story might describe how the Middle Six go through exactly the same hell the Big Six do, minus all the publicity. The End. BORING.

It would be interesting if someone could do a long-term life satisfaction study and compare the women in the Top Six and Middle Six.

I'd pay good money to see someone write another version of this about the top ten or twenty Greek systems around the country complete with sample photos. Can you IMAGINE the outcry in today's politically correct climate.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by TriDeltaSallie

complete with sample photos.

I couldn't believe there was an era when ANY of those outfits screamed "top tier"!

[TriDeltaSallie]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I couldn't believe there was an era when ANY of those outfits screamed "top tier"!

I have to agree. I had read parts of that article here on GC, but it wasn't the original article and didn't have the photos. I have to admit to being underwhelmed by the photos as they are not AT ALL what I pictured when I read the descriptions.

And I don't get the Tri Delta photo. She talks about Farrah and then they put up an example that doesn't resemble Farrah at all.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by TriDeltaSallie

It would be interesting if someone could do a long-term life satisfaction study and compare the women in the Top Six and Middle Six.

I'd pay good money to see someone write another version of this about the top ten or twenty Greek systems around the country complete with sample photos. Can you IMAGINE the outcry in today's politically correct climate.

Well, back when it was published, it was pretty shocking but in the way that you had to laugh too because so much of it was pretty spot-on.

[Ladybugmom]

Originally Posted by Eightisgreat

The problem with the current PNMs reading this article today (and it comes up pretty quickly on any search for UT sororities) is that it is a catalyst for some disappointing recruitments. Is it not human nature to not want to be the girl with the gold bangle? But the article does not paint the picture of UT sororities today. When the Texas Legislature passed the Top 10% rule and then later revised that specifically targeting UT and tightening the auto admit numbers to a percentage that would be 75% of the entering freshman class (8% for the Class of 2015 and 9% for the class of 2016) it dramatically shifted the pool of girls that attend UT, and therefore shifted the dynamic of the PNMs. It was not good enough to be a top notch cheerleader, active volunteer and average student. You needed to be academically superior…top 10% to even get a date to the big dance. Houses that continue to target ABC High School, can still get the cheerleaders, debs and dancers from that school if the girl was in the top 10% or was granted admission from holistic review. But because of the top 10% rule, girls gaining admission on holistic review are down dramatically, and without stereotyping, most girls that are top 10% are a mix of every type of extracurricular out there. But my point is that fabulous HS ABC is not sending their entire cheer squad to UT and they are certainly not sending all the debs either. Because of this, the typical “look” that used to come from these schools has shifted and therefore the culture and “look” of each house (all houses, Big 6 included) has changed.

UT has attracted dynamic and deep resume loaded women who can’t be forced into a mold. But when PNMs go through recruitment with this article in mind and with posts on GC that the Big 6 are still in play (and of course they are still in play, but in no way do they resemble the stereotypes in this article) they have a twisted sense of what they think the perfect sorority will be. (And we all know no house is perfect)

So Suzy PNM pledges a Big 6 only to find out that her “must have Big 6” is on academic probation and their social calendar is highly restricted because the chapter GPA is bottom of the barrel. (She is shocked because how can a Big 6 have one of the lowest GPAs??) She has never read about that, but like I said, the rules have changed, but no one is willing to talk about that…it just seems so easy to talk about the way it used to be. And then Amy PNM also pledges her “must have Big 6” only to find out that this group of women who on paper are class acts (you know they were all raised that way…) behave in ways that embarrass her and in a million years she just can’t figure out how that can be. Then Brooke PNM who followed her heart and was not pressured to believe the Big 6 is all that and a bag of chips; finds a true sisterhood, in an academically excellent chapter and loves that her house focuses on excellence instead of slamming everyone else to appear better. No one can say one house is better than the other. To PNMs perception is reality until they get inside and realize some of this just a mirage.

A writer who is willing to get down and dirty about UT recruitment will find some Big 6 houses rely on their reputations and age old descriptions of who they are….or maybe who they wish they were, while other Big 6 chapters are far better than that TM article says they are. And for the houses that aren’t even mentioned, as if they don’t deserve a column inch, that is where much of the treasure of UT is buried.

I 100% agree with you eight is great...I would love to see an article written which included all of the 14 sororities at UT and all of the wonderful things they have to offer. In my daughter's case that is an unbelievable sisterhood, lifelong friends, and very, very little back stabbing and drama. This was not what she witnessed with some of her friends that got caught up in the "Big 6 " hype and later regretted thier decisions. I often wonder what some of thier retention rates are like..
Also, these opinions are carried on from generation to generation....this article has been around a long time and like you said, some of these descriptions are accurate and many are no longer true at all. The one thing I will agree is still true is the "camp factor" and coming from the "right" high school..those two factors are alive and well with UT recruitment.