Research Proposal Blog #4

1. Greek Life and Homosexuality
2. Topic:  Greek life in universities is an environment full of socializing and gaining acceptance. LGBT students struggle finding acceptance compared to heterosexuals due to their sexuality, seeing how they experience fraternities and sororities provides an interesting insight on why and how they pursue this culture. Some things to look into are why people join Greek organizations in the first place when there are a slew of “problems” such as binge drinking, hazing, and homophobia. Another is defining masculinity and why men choose to pursue this ideal in order to be accepted. On top of that, do women fall under the same standards men do in pursuing the ideal traits of their gender?
3. Research Question: Why do LGBT students pursue Greek Life and how are their experiences different from non-LGBT students.
4. Theoretical Frame/Approach: Looking into concepts of acceptance, masculinity, manhood, hazing culture, liminality of students, unique experiences of LGBT people in a general setting.
5. Case, Additional Questions, Research Plan.
1. Look into direct experiences of LGBT students in Greek life. Research things not explicitly explained in the experiences such as the concept of being “in the closet” and being “outed”
2. Additional questions may be to look into hazing as another topic altogether
3. Research plan: research LGBT experiences and concepts, Greek culture concepts, and college culture concepts in order to find a pattern of intersectionality.
6. Nathan, Rebekah. "Understanding Student Culture." Anthropology News 46.7 (2005): 17-18. Web.
   Smith, Emily Esfahani. On Fraternities and Manliness. N.p.: The New Criterion, 2017. Web.
   Freeman, Pamela W., and Shane L. Windmeyer. Secret sisters: stories of being lesbian in a college sorority. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson, 2001. Print.
   Freeman, Pamela W., and Shane L. Windmeyer. Out on Fraternity Row. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson, 2001. Print.
   Kimmel, Michael. Guyland: The Dangerous World Where Boys Become Men. New York: Harper, 2000. Print.
   Sperber, Murrey. Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Is Crippling Undergraduate Education. N.p.: Holt Paperbacks, 2001. Web.