A few days ago, an email between sorority members of University of Southern California’s Alpha Chi Omega Chapter was leaked and published by Jezebel, and many onlookers not affiliated with the association are quite shocked at what they read in this confidential chain of emails. From eyebrow thickness, to flatter stomachs, to visible hair color roots, an anonymous initiator gave her group’s “PNM”s (potential new members”> a heads up on the physical appearance requirements of associating with the Alpha Chi Omegas:
- “Eyebrows shape your face. Bad eyebrows will make you look less beautiful than you actually are! Your eyebrows need to look neat (as in not messy”> for recruitment. I know “full” eyebrows are in style right now, but “full” does not mean “BUSHY” or “WILD.”… Alternatively, if you have SPARSE eyebrows then you need to fill them in.”
- “Remember: your hair needs to be one normal color. No crazy ombre, no color you wouldn’t see in nature. (Also, if you’re thinking about going from blonde to black or vice versa, do so after recruitment. You won’t know for sure what it will look like, and if you hate it/your hairstylist does a bad job, that won’t fly.”> You cannot have roots during recruitment, so if you dye your hair like me, please take care of that before arriving back to school.”
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“For recruitment, your hair has to be curly or straight. No waves. In this case, you either need to have a curling iron (for our curly gals”> or a flat iron (or a blow dryer if you have pin straight flat hair and you’re super good with hair so you can blow your hair out”>. Don’t count on other girls letting you borrow theirs or doing your hair for you because then she’s going to have no time for herself because she’s stuck doing everyone else’s hair (God bless [redacted]”>. If you’re not good with these tools, now is the time to practice.
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Note: if you have straight hair and you want to wear it curly, don’t. Your hair needs to be able to hold for 15 hr days and hairspray crunchy or limp hair is not acceptable. Also, get some heat protectant and shine spray. Damaged, frizzy hair is not going to attract PNMs. If you have bangs, they need to be styled correctly. If they’re long and you’re afraid they’re going to be in your face the whole time, get some bobby pins that match your hair color (except on house tours day/door chant, obvi”>. We don’t want to look “emo” or like we’re actually trying to flirt with PNMs by touching our hair all the time.”
The tipster goes on to mention maintaining a thin, appealing figure via her suggestion of utilizing Spanx undergarments: “I cannot stress how important spanx are to make you look your best. Even if you are very thin, Spanx will give you a better “‘line’ when you wear clothes (no awkward bumps!”> Plus you don’t have to worry about sucking in all the time or being bloated!” She also stresses the importance of wearing makeup, contact lenses vs. glasses, and getting regular gel manicures.
NaturallyCurly world, we want to know what your thoughts are on these beauty requirements from the Alpha Chi Omega chapter organizers.
Have you ever been asked to alter your appearance–hair, body, and makeup–in order to join an organization?
If you were in a sorority, was this your experience?
