SUBJECT TO SORORITY

268 Pages·2008·10.84 MB·English

SUBJECT TO SORORITY:
WOMEN’S NEGOTIATIONS OF COMPETING DISCOURSES OF FEMININITY
by
LISBETH A. BERBARY
(Under the Direction of Dr. Diane M. Samdahl)

ABSTRACT
Based on the need to expand literature on sorority women and explore all women’s
negotiations of gendered discourses, this dissertation details the process and findings of
an ethnographic study of a southern sorority. This ethnography was grounded in a priori
theories of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler and their notions of discourse, discipline,
subjectivity, and performativity and was guided by the following research questions: 1)
What discourses of femininity are enabled within Zeta Chi sorority culture? 2) How are
such discourses of femininity disseminated and disciplined within Zeta Chi culture? and
3) How do women in Zeta Chi negotiate the gendered expectations disciplined within
such discourse? The findings of this study were presented through a creative analytic
“pseudo” screenplay that illuminates the ways sorority women learned gendered
expectations, were disciplined towards compliance, and sometimes resisted or re-
interpreted expectations of the dominant discourse of “ladylike.” The fact that some
women resisted and re-interpreted expectations even within this strictly disciplined
discourse of gender reinforces the possibility for us all to potentially “see” ways that we
are disciplined, to challenge that discipline, and to open new possibilities for our own
gendered selves.

INDEX WORDS: Post-structural feminism, Alternative data representation, Femininity,
Performativity
SUBJECT TO SORORITY:
WOMEN’S NEGOTIATIONS OF COMPETING DISCOURSES OF FEMININITY

by

LISBETH A. BERBARY
B.A., Ithaca College, 2001
M.S., SUNY Cortland, 2003

A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ATHENS, GEORGIA
2008
© 2008
Lisbeth A. Berbary
All Rights Reserved
SUBJECT TO SORORITY:
WOMEN’S NEGOTIATIONS OF COMPETING DISCOURES OF FEMININITY

by

LISBETH A. BERBARY

Major Professor: Diane M. Samdahl

Committee: Corey W. Johnson
Kathleen deMarrais
Elizabeth St. Pierre

Electronic Version Approved:

Maureen Grasso
Dean of the Graduate School
The University of Georgia
August 2008
iv

DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my grandfather Vincenzo H. Molea
and his partner in crime Joseph Heimel
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It seems as though this section is the most difficult part to write of my
dissertation. I don’t know where to begin, who to begin with, or how to even begin
showing my gratitude. The process of this doctoral degree began years before I entered a
Ph.D. program at UGA. The confidence and perseverance it took to complete this
dissertation was instilled in me as a child. With this in mind, I would like to first thank
Mr. Amodeo, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Morse, Mr. Geelan, Mr. Toy, and Mr. Fitzpatrick—these
wonderful men helped to make me the feminist I am today. I would also like to thank
Michael Malpass, Linda Heyne, Stacia Zabusky, and Lynn Anderson for inspiring me to
continue forward in academia.
Next, I would like to thank my friends who listened to my tirades, cheered me up
when I was down, kept me sane, helped raise our dog, and gave me confidence and
advice: Margaret Pogorzala, Christine Fyda, Stacey Sharer, Erin Fages-Chism, Matt
Chism, Jen Callaghan, Laurel Richmond, Bryan Clift, Sarah Brown, Susan Powell,
Chester Brewer, Geoff Smith, Alex Wasylko, Andy Fyda, Danielle Dunlap, Brenda
Arnold, Lindsey Mann, Todd Roderick, J. Sean Callahan, Nichole Ray, Yancey Gulley,
Cinnamon, Lebo Matt, Johnny 9, Zack Howard, Colin Dauria, Heather Reel, Courtney
Lee, Matt Scaruto, Steffon B., The Metzgers, Kate Metzger, and last but not least my
irreplaceable work-husband Rudy Dunlap—never forget the first paradigmatic shifter!
Of course, I must be ever grateful to those professors who taught me to see
differently than I ever had before. My sincere thanks go to each of you including Drs.
Diane Samdahl, Corey Johnson, Kathleen deMarrais, Elizabeth St. Pierre, Elisabeth
Payne, and JoBeth Allen. Each of you forced me to push myself beyond what I ever
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dreamed was possible. To Kathleen—I will forever think and draw in charts because of
the time you spent with me mapping out my dissertation. It was truly an honor to have
worked so closely with you. To Bettie and Elisabeth—you have both been role models in
ways you can never imagine. I hope to one day be even half as smart—I will forever be
impressed. To JoBeth—thank you for helping me find my voice. Without your writing
retreats, I would never have had the courage to experiment with scholarship in the ways
that have taken flight in this dissertation. To Corey—had your work not existed, there
would not have been the possibility of mine. You paved the way for the acceptance of
this creative analytic dissertation and helped make room for such scholarship within our
field. I will always think of you as the “older sibling” who made it easier for me to “break
the rules.” I couldn’t have survived these years without you. Finally, I have to give an
extra special shout out to Diane for always being there for me, both professionally and
personally—I would have never been able to do this without your guidance, high
standards, attention to detail, humor, patience, and critical questioning. I promise to
always keep asking questions—even ones that don’t have easy answers. Oh Captain! My
Captain! Our fearful trip is done!
I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Zeta Chi, particularly Nicole,
Chloe, Sophia, Lola, Amy, Mary Kate, Maggie, Kate, Sammy, Erin, Johanna, Summer,
and Celeste for sharing their lives with me. I especially want to thank Nicole—a big sister
I could not have done without.
I would like to thank my parents, George and Roslyn Berbary, and my
grandmother, Serafina Molea, for hours of pep talks, hard love, editing, visits, and total
support. You are the most amazing family anyone could ask for and I know that
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everything I am is because of who you all are. Finally, I would like to thank Joseph
Metzger, my partner who braved my crazy feminist rants, post-structural confusions, and
multiple writing blocks. You deserve this degree just as much as I do. Thank you for your
love.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................v
CHAPTER
ONE REFLECTIONS OF CULTURE: I’M NOT A TYPICAL SORORITY GIRL..1
TWO THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE GENDERED SELF..................39
Theories of Subjectivity...................................................................................40
Enlightenment: The Humanist Subject............................................................41
The Humanist Subject and Feminism..............................................................43
Interpellation, Discourse, Self-Discipline, and Performativity........................45
Conclusion.......................................................................................................62
THREE METHODOLOGY............................................................................................64
The Sorority Setting.........................................................................................66
Data Collection................................................................................................72
Methods ..........................................................................................................79
Analysis and Representation............................................................................88
Screenplay as Post-structural Exemplar ..........................................................96
FOUR DOMINANT DISCOURSES OF FEMININITY...........................................110
FIVE DISCIPLINE OF LADYLIKENESS..............................................................138
SIX NEGOTIATIONS OF LADYLIKE SUBJECTIVITY...................................169
SEVEN CONCLUSIONS AND FINAL REFLECTIONS...........................................196
Connections to Post-structural Feminist Theory ....................................197
Final Reflections......................................................................................218