“Coming Out” Greek: The Intersectionality of Greek Life and Queer Folk

Intersectionality is an interesting word, and by no means does it roll off the tongue the way it should. But come on, it's fun to say!

The intersection of being a part of Greek Life and being a part of the LGBTQ community has been a struggle that many college students can attest to dealing with — especially at Ramapo College. There is an age-old misconception that individuals cannot be gay and Greek, but that heterosexist dogma doesn't hold much validity. 

For many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) students, however, being a part of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Ramapo is still something unimaginable. The lack of LGBT representation in such organizations continue to perpetuate the limiting stereotypes of what it means to be a part of Greek organizations.

Stephanie Hernandez presenting "When Gays Go
Greek and Greeks Go Gay" at William Paterson University

Ramapo College has 26 registered fraternities and sororities, with more than six hundred active members. 

Historically, LGBT-specific Greek organizations like Delta Phi Upsilon and Delta Lambda Phi have given queer-identified individuals the opportunity to be a brother or sister to a fraternity or sorority, respectively, without the fear of homophobic backlash against them. 

Ramapo does not have LGBT-specific fraternities and sororities, but students who are a part of Greek organizations believe their chapters are welcoming and inclusive of queer folk.

Nonetheless, increasing the intersectionality and visibility of queer folk in Fraternity and Sorority Life is something that the Women's Center is working to improve on campus. We wholeheartedly believe in embracing our intersecting identities, and not being limited by sexual orientation or gender expression.  

An in-depth news version of this article can be found on
http://newswriting.ramaporecord.org/2013/11/04/coming-out-greek-the-intersectionality-of-greek-life-and-queer-folk/