Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Bro-pacalypse: the TFM movement.


Some of you may have heard of Total Frat Move for those who haven’t you should take a look. It is a website dedicated to the fine men and women of the Greek community. The problem is that it shows none of the good things that Greeks do but instead chooses to focus on the “Frat”, Fratty, TFTC (To Frat To Care) , alcohol induced, female objectifying lifestyle stereotyped onto Greeks.   Total frat move is an impeccable example for Micheal Kimmel’s Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men . The premise of guyland is this: Today, growing up has become more complex and confusing, as young men drift casually through college and beyond—hanging out, partying, playing with tech toys, watching sports. But beneath the appearance of a simple extended boyhood, a more dangerous social world has developed, far away from the traditional signposts and cultural signals that once helped boys navigate their way to manhood—a territory Michael Kimmel has identified as "Guyland." Micheal Kimmel in my opinion gives some awful stereotypes into what it means to be a man. Some of his examples have a grain of truth but others are blatant generalities presented as "facts". TFM and its content are perfect examples to his book in reference to the transition age 16- 26 for men. A wet dream for Micheal Kimmel but I have something to say about it. I am not generalized and I refuse to follow the stereotypes expected of me and I think others would feel the same way.
                It is so wrong what is being portrayed. I am a member of Greek life so I may have a bias. For me Greek life is not about what they portray. Few and far between are the articles that are in anyway useful.  I feel I am not the only member of Greek life that feels this way and avoids the “TFTFC” lifestyle. I joined a fraternity to make an impact on my community not add a mountain of solo cups to a landfill. I wanted to boost my resume and do something worth doing.  I will just read off a couple of the top of the year wall posts I found worth sharing.
·       *  For some reason my Chik-fil-A sandwich tasted like the First Amendment. TFM.
·       *  There's nothing quite like a nice, cold beer after a long day of drinking nice, cold beer. TFM.
·       *  Keeping her sexually satisfied and emotionally disappointed. TFM.
·       *  Girl: "I won't sleep with a guy without dating." Me: "Well, I won't commit to a car without a test drive." TFM.
·        * You know she's a keeper when her first choice is the iron piece in Monopoly. TFM.

                For my Greeks who agree with me I ask you to send in letters as well.  For those who disagree with me on this and like TFM the way it is and think in some way it benefits us I do not even know how to change your mind. Look at what is portrayed, would you want your children, employers, relatives to see this website and reflect its values onto you? To you live your life by the Frat lifestyle? Is that really what you want to be you want people to see you as Frat?
                So now you have an idea of what actually goes on this website. I would like to make a change I think that TFM has the viewership to make a big change. So I ask this from the people over at TFM. Quit pushing this stereotype so hard, not everyone in the country has money to blow and makers mark in the cabinet, we do not all have trust funds and go golfing. Some people work hard to change things and would appreciate some honest help. If you are going to continue advertising as a website for the Greek Ladies and Gentlemen start writing articles for ladies and gentlemen.  All I ask is to hold your selves to a higher standard and make a difference. Write articles about the good things being done, write about the different community service events, fundraiser events, academic achievement and  philanthropy’s that the Greeks across our fine nation do. Otherwise you are dooming Greek as a whole, no dean is going to look at your website and feel confident in the Greek life on their campus and I do not imagine my future employer looking to good at me for being Greek if they think I am TFTC.





10 comments:

  1. I really like that you are taking the time to stand up for all the bias' of fraternities out there as well as point out what is right and wrong. It is very brave of you as well as inspiring to show that there are people out there with morals.

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  2. Just like Jade said, I think it is very brave of you to let people know that not all fraternities are party animals like the say they are, the pictures on the blog give the reader a better idea of what you are talking about which is nice.

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  3. I honestly don't know much about Greek life, but I think I can empathize. Some frat guys make you feel like you have to defend your role in a fraternity. Some feminists (like Caitlin Moran) make me feel like I have to defend my feminism. It's clear that this is something you really care about.

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  4. I think that fraternities and sororities shouldn't be about partying and I definitely appreciate yours choosing to better the world rather than "dumping a mountain of solo cups in a landfill".

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  5. The dedication you have to your Fraternity is very evident in the piece. It is clear you want to better the community, and it is not all about the partying. I have heard the stereotypes behing the Frats, but after reading this and your past pieces, it is clear not everyone out there is a crazy party-obsessed guy. Very good blog!

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  6. As I told you before, this type of blog gives me hope because you are not only speaking for fraternities but changing a lot of minds about men. Men like you confirm my belief that "they are not all like that" so thank you.

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  7. It's refreshing to see a member of the Greek college life trying to stand up and fight back against the commonplace actions, emotions, etc.. in Greek college life. And unfortunate as it is, I get the feeling that Greek life is only ever going to change those aspects from the inside, and that push-back from the outside is going to have little to no affect at all. So you have quite a task in front of you, but I hope for the best. And lastly, must admit that a few of you in the TKE fraternity have given me a lot of hope for the future of Greek college life.

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  8. I really like this! After having been to many social gatherings at all the frat houses at the U of M its nice to see someone who is not fitting all of the stereotypes.

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  9. I like that you have made it your point to talk about changing the stereotypes surrounding people in fraternities. Before you talked about TFM in class, I hadn't even known about it. I think it was a great tie-in to something in popular culture and how you personally feel about the issue.

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  10. AH! I'm SO glad you posted about this. Living with two sorority girls two years ago, they would be on TSM, and I found it super annoying, narcissistic, and mean. It seemed like they were just privileged, bitchy girls who felt inferior to "GDI's" (God-damn independents). That term really stuck with me. I hated that they hated independent people. Wasn't their sorority trying to "teach" them to be independent, strong women? Aren't they supposed to stand up for whats RIGHT, stand alone and independent if they have to? This website made them look like pathetic sheep. Same with TFM. These websites help perpetuate the stereotype. The stereotype makes me not want to associate with frat/sorority members. You as well as a few sorority members that I know are the few exceptions I find to this stereotype. I'm glad you see this and trying to change it. It needs to change.

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