I’m a woman, and I am a Brother of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. You would honesty be surprised at the amount of weird looks that gets me whenever I say that or call myself a “brother.” For those that are curious or for those that are in a similar situation, here are five things to know about what being a woman in a fraternity is like:
1) “Don’t you mean a sorority?”
If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this, I would have enough money to have an automated, pre-recorded response to that. No. I do not mean a sorority. Please see the response to number two for the explanation.
2) Brothers are we (for life).
One of the biggest eyebrow-raisers about being in a fraternity is that we call other members “brother.” Because the chapter at my school is about 80 percent other women, people are constantly trying to understand why we aren’t “sisters.” For those wondering, “soror” in Latin translates to “sister,” which would make the opposite “brothers.” Make sense?
3) It’s still big, and it’s still lit.
Meaning we get big and little brothers. There really aren’t a lot of differences between most Greek organizations; we get paired with bigs and littles and are encouraged to foster a close relationship with them. We have “little appreciation week” where we give our littles clues and gifts, and have a big reveal ceremony (usually with a really cute theme) to reveal who we are. We still have “lines,” consisting of a little, big, grandbig, etc.
4) Professional, not social.
A common misconception about PSP, and other honor/service fraternities, is that they have the same purpose as social fraternities. While we are definitely social and still do things that social Greek organizations do, as an honors fraternity our values are a bit different. We focus on professionalism, academics and leadership first and foremost; friendships and other activities second.
5) They are your people.
No matter what kind of brother or sisterhood you join, you will always experience that unique bond that brings you closer than you ever thought you could be to 50 plus people. You know you could text any one of them in the middle of the night and they would be there for you in a heartbeat, and that you would do the same for them. They’re your people, they’re your brothers and they’re family.