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Fratty.net - Identity, Persuasion, and Coercion By Jordan T. Wise

No on could have foreseen the level of international fame and controversy that a message board about Greek Life would start when a member of the Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity (KA) at Texas A&M University created a website and message board in the fall of 2004 called Fratty.net. Since its creation, the website has been shut down and restarted at least 4 times, been sued twice for copyright infringements, and been banned by colleges across the nation. So, why has this message board been so popular and controversial? Most of that question can be answered with one word: identity. The people who post of the message board prescribe so strongly to the cultural ready-made identity of what it means to be fratty that they use this community to establish, support, and perpetuate their identities. Also, there are some interesting things that occur on the fratty.net board. These include but are not limited to: the unrealism of the attitudes of members, the superstrict adherence to a cultural ready-made identity, the trends of the posts/arguments, and how members seem to always be on the defensive. Perhaps the most interesting characteristic of the board is that because people are too busy conforming the cultural ready-made fraternity identity, the content of the board does not allow for any constructed (or true) identities. The Fratty.net message board is broken into 5 categories. They are: Non-specific frat, Schools (specific), Frats(specific), Style, and Frat Daddys and Sorostitutes. Allow me a moment to explain these categories. Non-specific frat means that the threads are about fraternity life in general. Most of the topics tend to be something similar to What are some fratty crush party ideas? These threads usually tend to mention specific fraternities at some point. The main place to find discussions about specific fraternities is within the Frats discussion board. These topics usually are about one on a national level, or at a specific school. If a user is looking for information regarding a specific schools Greek system, then they can find all the information in the Schools thread. The Style thread is one of the most humorous to me. Here people debate what clothes, styles, and threads can be considered fratty. These discussions are often very heated. The last category is Frat Daddys and Sorostitutes. This thread usually discusses which fraternities get the most girls, or which sororities have the sluttiest members. All in all, the board has a wide range of topics and discussions. One of the most interesting and unique features of the Fratty.net message board is the given (or rather assumed) identities of the users. When looking at the board, one must take into consideration that the vast majority of the users are very similar. This is the case because most of the people that are in fraternities and sororities come from similar backgrounds: wealthy, middle/upper-class, traditional, white, well-educated families. Accordingly, many of the opinions on the board are very similar. Also, because fraternities and sororities are organizations which college students are involved in, the age range on board is between 18-24. Additionally, the overwhelming majority of

people on the message board are male. There are some women on the board, but they post with much less frequency then the men. Some of this information is given to viewers of the board on each post (please see attached screen shot). A lot of the characteristics of given identities on the board overlap into the readymade identity of how people in the Greek community think they should act like. In Rhetoric: A Users Guide John Ramage describes cultural ready-made identities as, appropriat[ing] a ready-made to forge communal identities that on one hand increase loyaltyand on the other hand alter perceptions of a communitys members. (54) This statement could not better describe the trends found on the Fratty.net message board. The characteristics of the fraternity/sorority ready-made identity are some of the most unique features of the overall Greek identity. An example of this is seen in the thread Most Unfratty Thing About You. Uayetti927 posts, I use to be the biggest skater, emo kid ever went to screamo shows wore dickies, spiked belts and skate shows, and had long bleach blonde hair, and I still have a niche for new found glory. The response comes from Fratallday, who writes, Holy GDI [God Dammed Independent; name for someone who is not in the Greek system] Batman!! Youre joking right? How do you make the switch from black fingernail polish and I hate my dad to fishing drinking and Frat? This helps illustrate the belief (and adherence of many) in the ready-made identity for Greek members. This identity is multi-dimensional, and it is constructed from tradition, the media (TV, movies, radio, etc.), fashion, geographic location in the US, and many others pieces. Here is a breakdown of these components: Tradition: Many people adhere to the traditions of their fraternity and to the traditions of Greek life as a whole. This includes to manners (or lack thereof), namesakes, rules, and traditions. The Media: Greeks often try to act like the images of fraternities and sororities that they see on TV or in the movies. Examples of this include dressing and acting like the frat boys in Animal House and Going Greek. Also, there is a lot of publicity (usually negative) about Greek life in the media. Consequently, people often feel like they have to act in a manner that they hear about. Fashion: One of the most interesting things about the Fratty.net message board is the amount of posts related to fashion (there are almost 12,000 posts in 690 threads). Greeks are notorious for their style and their opinions about style. They often decide what is fratty. This is seen in discussion about Ralph Lauren v. Brooks Brothers clothing, etc. Geographic location in the US: This may sound primitive, but, generally speaking, Greeks view fraternities in the North and South as very different (also, the East and West are different). This is rooted in the belief, by many in the South, that southern fraternities are somehow superior, and more distinguished than the northern organizations. This is reflected in the board by the many posts about how frats in the South are the only ones that matter. Location is also a component of the ideals that some members of the board possess. One of the most disturbing trends on Fratty.net is the

overt racism that is expressed by a few of the boards members. This is due, in large part, not only by location, but also by the ready-made identity that fraternities are like old, Southern, racist, gentlemens organizations. Now, what is so interesting about all the characteristics of the fraternity cultural ready-made identity is that the members of the Fratty.net board so strictly adhere to this identity, that they leave no room for any constructed identities to emerge. Ramage comments on this when he says, They (cultural ready-mades) teach us not just who we might be (for inevitably they privilege and publicize some models of identity and ignore or vilify others), but also how to crucially evaluate our options. (55) A parallel can be drawn between the members of the Greek community and their adherence to their cultural ready-made and the Harley Motorcycle communitys adherence to their identity. Ramage discusses, at length, the Harley cultural phenomenon that took place after World War II (49-54). He describes how a culture of motorcycle clubs and bandits emerged. Now, almost 60 years later, that culture is still seen today through the millions of motorcycle riders who dress up and play motorcycle like their predecessors. So, what Ramage is saying with all of this, is that the people who try to fit in to a cultural ready-made identity are trying to conform to a standard that has been set before them. They are not innovators, but rather, are imitators. This trend is seen, with prevalence, in the Fratty.net message board. The cultural ready-made is so strictly adhered to (is so strong) by the members of Fratty.net, it does not allow for a true/real constructed identity to be formed. Rather, the members of the board are trying to construct their identities according to the ready-made. So, there is a cycle of one-upmanship where people try to be more fratty (meaning, adhering to more of the conventions of the fraternity identity) than other members. As a result of this, there are no true identities on the board. The constructed identities on Fratty.net are a little bit more difficult to identify. This is, in large part, a result of the thousands of people who post on the board. This large number makes it difficult to determine trends among members. But, there are a few members who do post more often than others. Also, though, beyond the constructed identities that are either given or constructed by individual members, are the identities that are constructed for different organizations. For example, PKE (or pike) appears to be the most hated fraternity on the message board. It seems that in every post that they are mentioned; they are spoken of with malice and disdain. Consequently, a very negative image of them has been constructed. Another reason that constructed identities are difficult to identify is because the members try to portray an identity of what they want others to see, not necessarily who they actually are, which results in a lot of people taking on alter egos on the board. This occurs because so much of the content within the board is controversial (and, consequently, why the board has been shut down so many times) and people do not want to associate their true identity with their words. Additionally, Ramage discusses the relationship between ready-mades and constructed identities when he says, Cultural readymades are closest in spirit to constructed identities by virtue of their emphasis on the negative. (55) The Fratty.net message board could not be a better example of the above quote. Members on the board do not necessarily come out and say who or what they are, but rather, more frequently say what they are not. Much of the time they will not say that something is fratty but will rather say that something is unfratty. This only helps add to the ambiguity when discussing constructed identities on the message board. Something that is really interesting about the Fratty.net message board is how fake the

conversations on the board are. What I mean to say is, fraternity and sorority members in real life conversations do not talk about most of the topics that are discussed on the board. So, why do members of the board do this? Members have these conversations because they identify so much with their ready-made identity, that they feel the only way to construct any sort of individual identity (within the ready-made) is to have discussions and see who can emerge as the most fratty. So, even though people may not actually believe in something, they may use their alter ego on the message board to discuss any particular subject. Consequently, people still have these discussions because they feel that the only way to have influence and clout on the board is to try to be the most fratty member. The last component of the board that needs to be discussed is the relationship between Fratty.net, persuasion, and coercion. Almost everything that is said on the message board has to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, members still try to persuade others and convey meaning (and knowledge) through their posts. Most of the threads follow a discouraging pattern. The pattern is: Person A: Legitimate Statement/Question Person B: Response that is something similar to, Youre a dumbass, who would ask a stupid fucking question like that? Person A: Thats not nice. What I meant was Person C: Yeah, you are still a dumbass. I agree with Person B Sadly, that is how a lot of the threads actually progress: Someone will ask a valid question, and will then be abused and made-fun-of until they are perceived as inferior and an idiot. Often, the people like Person B and C are then seen as know-it-alls and their opinions (and identities) are given more credibility. On the fratty.net message boards, persuasion seems to be less about a solid argument, and more about how many posts a member has. Obviously, some peoples opinions are valued more than others. That respect comes from not only the number of posts they have, but also from the quality of their posts. What is interesting about this board in particular, is that the quality of posts is so subjective. A lot of people on fratty.net hold onto prescriptivist ideals about fraternity life and lifestyle, and it seems that the posts that cater to those ideals are given more credence. Also, on this board, users do not necessarily attempt to persuade as much as they try to command people. Their arguments are not, I think that this is better because, but rather, they are similar to, Polo clothes are just better than Hollister. We all know that. Polo is fratty and Hollister is considered GDI fashion. Thus, arguments usually do not follow traditional means of persuasion, but are, instead, attempts by one member to tell another one how to be more fratty. This occurs because of the overwhelming influence of the cultural-readymade does not allow for persuasion, but rather for coercion. The members of the board coerce each other into following the strict guidelines that are set by the ready-made identity as a whole. So, because this identity is so influential, and because so many members force themselves to follow it, there is no room for persuasion, but rather, there is room for coercion according to prescriptivism. It has truly been interesting to see the amount of weight and influence that a popular and controversial message board carries over people and their identities. Even though a lot of the message board has been labeled fake or manufactured it is still a very real place. Some people

have argued that the website is fun, and that everything must be taken in jest. But there is more the message board than just fun; there is identity. The Fratty.net message board shapes, influences, and perpetuates not only individual members identities, but also perpetuates the identity of Greek Life around the nation.

Jordan T. Wise