A stylish recruitment video by a University of Alabama sorority chapter of Alpha Phi has generated such a tidal wave of backlash that the sorority has deleted the video and taken down their social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
The pushback started with an Aug. 14 AL.com opinion piece by A.L. Bailey, headlined ‘’Bama sorority video worse for women than Donald Trump.”
The slick video, at just more than four minutes long, is set to electronic pop music with no dialog. It depicts the chapter’s 72 spirited sorority sisters – mostly blonde, with little ethnic diversity or plus-size figures or even short hair to speak of – running hand in hand, giving each other piggyback rides, checking themselves in mirrors, frolicking in bikinis and blowing kisses.
The obvious implication is that the sorority members are deeply bonded and fun-loving. But it’s the sexy subtext that got to Bailey, who says in the opinion piece that the video is, “a parade of white girls and blonde hair dye, coordinated clothing, bikinis and daisy dukes, glitter and kisses, bouncing bodies, euphoric hand-holding and hugging, gratuitous booty shots, and matching aviator sunglasses. It's all so racially and aesthetically homogeneous and forced, so hyper-feminine, so reductive and objectifying, so Stepford Wives: College Edition. It's all so ... unempowering.”
Later, Bailey says, “During filming, did any of them stop to think about what they'd be selling? Did they think they were selling a respectable set of sorority chapter ideals? Did they think they were selling the kind of sisterhood that looks out for all women? Or were they focused on having the hottest video in the popularity contest that is sorority recruitment?”
The video certainly generated interest, drawing more than 500,000 views on YouTube in less than a week. Yet the viral video prompted such outrage that the sorority took it down, apparently Sunday – though not before others had uploaded it.
In a statement to E! News, University of Alabama Associate Vice President Deborah M. Lane said, “This video is not reflective of UA's expectations for student organizations to be responsible digital citizens … It is important for student organizations to remember that what is posted on social media makes a difference, today and tomorrow, on how they are viewed and perceived."
As of yet, no disciplinary action is being taken against the sorority.
