Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus (Paperback)

by Peggy Sanday (Author)
Key Phrases: fraternity initiation rituals, new sexual revolution, fraternal patriarchy, United States, Judge Forer, Sorority Advisory Board (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A classic. Fraternity Gang Rape is a fascinating analysis of how all-male groups such as fraternities or athletic teams may create a rape culture where behavior occurs that few individuals acting alone would perpetrate. The new introduction and afterword shed light on how this pernicious problem continues today, insightfully illuminating the complicity of society in the failure of accountability for acquaintance rape."

- Mary P. Koss, co-editor of No Safe Haven: Male Violence Against Women at Home, at Work, and in the Community

Praise for the First Edition

"A powerful and important book.”

- Contemporary Psychology

"Full of insights . . . an important contribution . . . written in accessible prose and ideal for course use.”

- Women's Review of Books

"Powerfully moving and analytically provocative. . . . If the college or university at which AJS readers teach has a fraternity or sorority system, this book will be useful in understanding the way those organizations not only construct the gender relations between women and men on campus but also provide a map of male domination that members can take with them for the rest of their lives."

- Michael S. Kimmel, American Journal of Sociology

"Sanday draws a chilling picture of fraternity society, its debasement of women and the way it creates a looking-glass world in which gang rape can be considered normal behavior and the pressure of group-think it powerful."

- The Philadelphia Inquirer

Product Description
"A classic. Fraternity Gang Rape is a fascinating analysis of how all-male groups such as fraternities or athletic teams may create a rape culture where behavior occurs that few individuals acting alone would perpetrate. The new introduction and afterword shed light on how this pernicious problem continues today, insightfully illuminating the complicity of society in the failure of accountability for acquaintance rape."
--Mary P. Koss, co-editor of No Safe Haven: Male Violence Against Women at Home, at Work, and in the Community

Praise for the First Edition

"A powerful and important book."
--Contemporary Psychology

"Full of insights . . . an important contribution . . . written in accessible prose and ideal for course use."
--Women's Review of Books

"Powerfully moving and analytically provocative. . . . If the college or university at which AJS readers teach has a fraternity or sorority system, this book will be useful in understanding the way those organizations not only construct the gender relations between women and men on campus but also provide a map of male domination that members can take with them for the rest of their lives."
--Michael S. Kimmel, American Journal of Sociology

"Sanday draws a chilling picture of fraternity society, its debasement of women and the way it creates a looking-glass world in which gang rape can be considered normal behavior and the pressure of group-think it powerful."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

"An important book [that] should be read by everyone in higher education - faculty, administrators, and students."
--Contemporary Sociology

"Very accessible...Sanday's book explores the vulnerability of college women, and of young men seeking to prove their manhood. I read it on vacation. My daughter has just turned 12. I told her I wanted her to read it before she goes to college."
--Judy Mann, The Washington Post

"Chilling."
--The Miami Herald

"In her well-regarded text, Sanday points out how frequently athletes are involved in group sexual misconduct against women."
--The New York Times

"Told with boldness and clarity, and drawing on insight from other cultures, this is one of the best books on rape and male socialization in several years."
--Feminist Bookstore News

"A rare and valuable book: deeply illuminating and yet unbearably painful."
--Andrea Dworkin

"Enlightening and provocative."
--West Coast Review of Books

This widely acclaimed and meticulously documented volume illustrates, in painstaking and disturbing detail, the nature of fraternity gang rape. Drawing on interviews with both victims and fraternity members, Peggy Reeves Sanday reconstructs daily life in the fraternity, highlighting the role played by pornography, male bonding, and degrading, often grotesque, initiation and hazing rituals.

In a substantial new introduction and afterword, Sanday updates the incidences of fraternity gang rape on college campuses today, highlighting such recent cases as that of Duke University and others in the headlines. Sanday also explores the nature of hazing at sororities on campus and how Greek life in general contributes to a culture which promotes the exploitation and sexual degradation of women on campus. More broadly, Sanday examines the nature of campus life today and the possibility of creating a rape-free campus culture.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press; Second Edition edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814740383
• ISBN-13: 978-0814740385
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #672,946 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Greek and I love this book!, July 24, 2004

By	Sorority Girl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus (Feminist Crosscurrents Series) (Paperback)

In response to the many Greeks who wrote reviews disparaging this book because it "perpetuates stereotypes." First of all, to some of you, do not write reviews without reading a book. Second, this book tells the truth about events that happened to quite a few women at my school. It is an Ivy league school, by the way, so just because you have researched a school for its reputation does not protect you. I am a member of a sorority, and I adore it, but the fact that I love the Greek system is all the more reason to support this book. Don't shoot the messenger... this type of event happened very often during the period Sanday researched the book (the 80s) and the book was a significant force in reducing this type of incident. If you love the Greek system, you should be willing to face the truth. A minority of Greek organizations have committed some terrible crimes, and the setup of the Greek party system, brotherhood values, and school protection of male organizations rather than female victims out of concern for their reputations combined to allow them to go unpunished. This book is about how our culture allows people to get away with this type of crime, and how on campuses this behavior is excused. If you want to end what you call stereotypes, work on helping our Greek organizations be the best they can be, and don't be upset with a woman who just told the stories of people who experienced terrible things! I am well aware of the good Greeks do (I'm my sorority's philanthropy chair), but I also know that Sanday (a professor of mine) told the truth in her book, which was only an expose of what happened. Just because we are proud of the Greek system doesn't mean we can't recognize that in some cases it can promote sexual assault (I am also a certified sexual assault counselor, and hear all too often the stories of women who are assaulted on college campuses.) We need to recognize the problem of "a sense of entitlement" and oversexualization at some Greek organizations and work to fix it rather than just ranting at people who dare to air some dirty laundry.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and fearless, truthful and long overdue, September 19, 2003

By	Lisa Simeone (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus (Feminist Crosscurrents) (Hardcover)

Sanday is one of the few researchers with the guts to expose the dark side of the American worship of fraternities and athletes. This American obsession runs so deep and has been unquestioned for so long it's no wonder her research angers those in a position of privilege (think Citadel, think Tailhook). Check out Bernard Lefkowitz's more recent OUR GUYS for a male journalist's take on the same culture of privilege. It's time for people to quit shielding campus thugs in the name of letting boys be boys. There ARE colleges where fraternities and sororities don't exist, and those of us who went there still made friends, contributed to the community, and had rich social lives. We also had far fewer rapes.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written, May 28, 2000

By	Hank (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fraternity Gang Rape: Sex, Brotherhood, and Privilege on Campus (Feminist Crosscurrents) (Hardcover)

This book echoed a lot of things I saw and heard about while attending school. I never had a use for fraternities but was around them a lot since I played in a band and we played some of their parties. Maybe things have changed somewhat since then, but I would be surprised if that is the case. I think this sort of thing is a lot more common then the "brothers" would like to admit, like hazing. To be fair, I have seen the positive sides of fraternities but have seen a lot more of the herd mentality in them. Parents who are sending daughters away to school would be well advised to read this. Its better to be aware of what could (and does) happen, then to assume all is safe and well.