New York sorority girls being publicly hazed in their underwear circa 1900
sorority initiation long island
Sorority hazing and the paddle has been a part of US college culture for decades as some of the pictures above testify. One rather suspects that there was less public nudity before the 1970s but that is a sign of the times when college girls disrobe for hijinks in a public bar. This subject has been covered before, but it remains ever popular. In light of the article on Friday you can decide whether this is good taste and good clean fun or as some would have it, somewhat sinister. On this occasion I merely offer it as reportage.
Just for some context a national debate in the US led to a former sorority girl writing to anti-hazing campaigner Susan Lipkins suggesting politely that she may be overreacting in the majority of cases.
She wrote:
“After a week the bruises are gone. No serious injury has ever set in. Stripping naked, bending over and allowing someone to inflict pain is a surrendering of authority to the group. It’s humiliating, it hurts and most girls like me cry their eyes out. It is however not mean, not abuse and it shouldn’t be criminal. Feel that if you want to be part of the group then you have to take your medicine just like every other woman who has been through it.”
Some defence, I bet Ms Lipkins rested her case.
The second is from a comment made in 2006 on the now defunct Aunty Agony blog.
Another Susan wrote:
I was a sorority member in the late 90s. Paddling doesn’t occur within national chapters as often because their organizations are monitored more closely. It happens, but it’s hidden-out-in-the-open, if you follow.
Local chapters on the other hand, as I was part of, generally aren’t regulated as closely, and let me tell you, we girls did much worse hazing than some of the frats! LOL
Paddling was standard in some orgs, as were pledges with black and blue bottoms after the intake process! Mine sure was! I’ve been spanked since, but never as hard as that. We had to take the paddle on bare skin but you’re told to wear a thong. Some of our sisters would swing so hard it lifted me up on my feet even though I was bent over the back of a couch. I cried and felt like passing out. It took weeks for my rear to heal.
It became sort of a joke after it, because whenever you’d be in the showers, you’d always know which of us pledged an org that paddled by the bruised rears! Some wouldn’t use the gym showers until their bruises cleared up. A few even quit over it. Sometimes somebody’s parents would get upset and make a big deal over it, make threatening phone calls to administration calling us “sickos,” but they knew they’d never be able to stop it because the new girls are so desperate to join they’re willing to be paddled to get in, some look forward to it. It’s hardly a secret. And as Katie – above – said, we’d have a lot of fun doing it to the new pledges.
To be honest, twice I had pledges who started crying hysterically while I paddled them. The first time it didn’t bother me because the girl was a real bitch. Two other girls had to steady her while I swung away. She was one of the few where I intentionally broke the skin so she bled a little.
The other time a pledge really broke down, I wanted to stop, but my sisters indicated otherwise with instructions not to ease up on my swings. With each loud WHOP she’d go quiet for a second and then just wail! She hardly spoke to me all year even though I apologized and tried to make friends.
I’ll admit though I saw it get out of hand. Personal disputes between girls always made the paddlings worse. I saw a few fights break out during initiations, and I know there were girls who went to see a doctor because of their bruises. I can’t imagine how they explained it!
Who is the bitch here (a rough lot)?
Here is another lighter story that comes second hand in another comment.
Spankdaddy wrote:
I was lucky enough to get a few bits about a sorority spanking that is 100% true. Sorority paddling is alive and well at NC State University. I work in a Nature Park that employees college students as part time summer help. I became friends with a very attractive sophomore student last fall. She is attending NC state University. She told me she was pledging a sorority in the spring. Being the spanko I am I casually said, “ so you are going to get a blistered ass to be a member?” She replied, “NO WAY. They don’t do that anymore. It’s against the rules to haze anymore. “
“It may be against the rules of the college but I think it still goes on,” I replied.
“You sound just like my mom. She told me she got her ass paddled a lot when she pledged and she expects me to get the same thing. I don’t think it will happen, the university has outlawed hazing,” she went on to say.
This year she returned in the fall to work and I asked her, well did you get paddled?
She replied, “HELL YA, My ass was red and sore for a solid month. My big sister paddled me every night and every Saturday night the whole group got paddled.”
She didn’t go into details. I’ll try to get more details if I can. NC State still has sororities that paddle pledges.
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Who said girls weren’t tough. As I said I think this raises some of the issues discussed in last Friday’s article.
