Do People Really Understand the Secrets of the Greek Community? There are many pressures that girls face that the public doesn't know about and are especially evident in sororities. Alexandra Robbins, the author of the book Pledged: The Secret Lives of Sororities, went undercover and followed four different girls through their experiences within the Greek system. While there are many challenges girls may face in sororities, the five most common types of pressures are: having the perfect body image, substance abuse, stress, silence, and hazing. One of many forms of dangerous pressures girls face because of their sorority membership. a sisterhood is a body image. Being a member of an organization with typically 100 women opens the door to pressure to conform to a certain ideal look. Forms of hazing often included activities that undermined girls' self-confidence. “During the fat circle, the pledges strip and, one by one, stand in front of the entire sorority member. Sisters (or, in some chapters, fraternity brothers) then use thick black markers to circle fat or cellulite on an applicant's body... For many sororities, thinness, as discovered commitments, is a priority” (Robbins 259). These types of activities are not uncommon in sororities. From the first day of commitment, the idea of ​​​​having a perfect body is obsessed. Even girls with healthy and fit bodies are criticized just as much for the sake of upper class men breaking them down, so they can rebuild them the way they want. It's manipulative and confusing. Pressure to be accepted by the sorority was a common consequence of prioritizing perfection, which could also lead to eating disorders. A study was done and found that "the most consistent finding was...... middle of paper... Why should people stand by and let these pressures shape young women's lives?" Works Cited Butterfield, Sam. "New Study Finds Sororities Negatively Impact Body Image." The daily college student. The Daily Collegian, March 11, 2010. Web. February 17, 2014. Hansen, B. (January 9, 2004). Hazing. CQ Researcher, 14, 1-24. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ Mantel, B. (August 18, 2006). Drinking on campus. CQ Researcher, 16, 649-672. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/Robbins, Alexandra. Committed: The Secret Life of Sororities. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print. Scrivo, K. (March 20, 1998). Drinking on campus. CQ Researcher, 8, 241-264. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/Worsnop, RL (March 14, 1997). Advertising for alcohol. CQ Researcher, 7, 217-240. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/