One in ten American college students joins a fraternity or sorority, and Greek social organizations produce a disproportionately large percentage of power brokers in business and politics. Statistics show that while these future leaders are on campus, they are much more likely than non-Greek students to engage in binge drinking and to be either the perpetrators or victims of sexual assault.

In Inside Greek U., Alan D. DeSantis takes an in-depth look at the lessons that Greek organizations teach their members about gender, drawing on evidence gathered in hundreds of focus-group sessions and personal interviews and from his years of experience as a Greek faculty advisor. Inside Greek U. reveals a Greek culture that imbues its members with the sense that "real men" must be unemotional, promiscuous, violent, and aggressively masculine, while "nice girls" should be nurturing, passive, domestic, and purely feminine. These rigid formulations contribute to maladaptive behaviors and beliefs, such as eating disorders, body image distortions, homophobia, and date rape and other sexual misconduct.

Inside Greek U. aims to reform the Greek system rather than tear it down or sanction contempt for its members. DeSantis identifies narrow definitions of gender that impede Greek students' intellectual and emotional development and seeks to broaden these definitions, thereby expanding the range of acceptable choices available to fraternity and sorority members before and after graduation.

Alan D. DeSantis is professor of communications at the University of Kentucky. He has published numerous journal articles in publications such as Health Communication, the International Journal of Refugee Studies, and the Journal of Communication and Religion.

Reviews:

"[Desantis'] book is . . . a clear and mostly readable overview that winds up with surprising conclusion that fraternities and sororities aren't so bad after all." -- Charles McGrath, New York Times

"Many books on the subject tend to fall into sensational, expose` territory, but Desantis' takes a more thoughtful, academically critical view, examining how gender roles and behaviors in particular affect and influence young men and women. It provides practical suggestions at all levels of academia to improve Greek organizations and minimize the harm they cause." -- Candice Jackson, Lexington Herald-Leader

"Always respectful of his participants, DeSantis produces a sympathetic work that seeks to help future members of Greek organizations to critique and avoid the often harmful gender ideals that fraternities and sororities can perpetuate. This book should be required reading for college students thinking about pledging a fraternity or a sorority." -- Elizabeth L. Winter, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta

"A system that weilds this much power needs greater scrutiny and understanding, and DeSantis is qualified to provide it - he possesses an insider's knowledge and access, and as an academic, he understands how the messages cultivated and promoted by the Greek system filter into society at large, and how our culture internalizes and reinforces those messages." -- Candice Jackson, Lexington Herald-Leader

"A clear and mostly readable overview that winds up with the surprising conclusion that fraternities and sororities aren't so bad after all."--New York Times

"DeSantis produces a sympathetic work that seeks to help future members of Greek organizations to critique and avoid the often harmful gender ideals that fraternities and sororities can perpetuate. This book should be required reading for college students thinking about pledging a fraternity or a sorority."--Library Journal

"This book provides a vivid description of gender templates for identity and associated behavior in the Greek System of a University."--Peggy Reeves Sanday, author of Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus

"This book is unique, provocative, and troubling, and it will stimulate quite a bit of conversation. It is a snapshot of four important years in the lives of those who may one day become the business, political, and legal leaders of our nation."--Cindy Griffin, author of Feminist Rhetorical Theories

"No other book treats the Greek system as fully as Inside Greek U. It is at once critical and sympathetic, showing an unparalleled understanding of perspectives of the young men and women in the Greek system."--Scott F. Kiesling, coeditor of Intercultural Discourse and Communication: The Essential Readings