Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities

Alexandra Robbins

Hyperion, Apr 7, 2004 - Study Aids - 372 pages

Alexandra Robbins wanted to find out if the stereotypes about sorority girls were actually true, so she spent a year with a group of girls in a typical sorority. The sordid behavior of sorority girls exceeded her worst expectations-drugs, psychological abuse, extreme promiscuity, racism, violence, and rampant eating disorders are just a few of the problems. But even more surprising was the fact that these abuses were inflicted and endured by intelligent, successful, and attractive women. Why is the desire to belong to a sorority so powerful that women are willing to engage in this type of behavior-especially when the women involved are supposed to be considered 'sisters'? What definition of sisterhood do many women embrace? Pledged combines a sharp-eyed narrative with extensive reporting and the fly-on-the-wall voyeurism of reality shows to provide the answer.

What people are saying

Review: Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities

User Review  - Sydney North - Goodreads

I give the book Pledged by Alexandra Robbins a 1 out of 5 stars. Alexandra follows sorority girls/ pledges in this complicated read, she details their story of being in a sorority, she follows Sabrina ...

Review: Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities

User Review  - Jaya - Goodreads

The author clearly states near the end of this book: "I did not write [this book] to argue either a pro-Greek or anti-Greek point of view." And yet, arguing an anti-Greek point of view is exactly what ...

About the author

Alexandra Robbins is a former staff member of The New Yorker and the author of two New York Times bestsellers. Her work has appeared in publications including The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, Chicago Tribune, Self, Washington Monthly, Time Digital, Salon, Details, Shape, PC, Tennis Week, and the Journal of Popular Culture. She graduated summa cum laude in 1998 from Yale.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
• Author: Alexandra Robbins
• Publisher: Hyperion, 2004
• ISBN: 1401300464, 9781401300463
• Length: 372 pages
• Subjects: Education / Higher; Education / Student Life & Student Affairs; Social Science / Popular Culture; Social Science / Women's Studies; Study Aids / College Guides