Mizzou’s Kappa Kappa Gamma fights sorority stereotypes with ‘Breaking Barriers’ campaign

The members of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Missouri have obviously had enough with all those sorority sister stereotypes.

You know what we’re talking about. The dumb, blonde, shallow, spoiled rich girls in movies like “Legally Blonde.”

So KKG members this week launched a Facebook campaign to challenge that perception.

In a series of dramatic black-and-white photos called “Breaking Barriers,” sorority members hold their hands to the camera with palms out where they’ve written personal declarations.

“Society says sorority girls are airheads. But I’m a chemical engineer.”

“Society says I’m spoiled. But I have 3 jobs.”

“I’ve struggled with depression since I was 13. And I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Society says thin is in. Everybody is in!”

The photos were posted on the sorority’s Facebook page on Tuesday. By Friday morning it had attracted nearly 9,000 likes and had been shared nearly 10,000 times.

“Everyday we face the stereotypes that society gives us, and everyday we overcome these stereotypes,” the sorority wrote on its Facebook page.

By chance, the campaign launched just days after a brouhaha involving another sorority on campus.

Earlier this month, Fred Berry, the president of the Columbia (Mo.) Pachyderm Club, tweeted a photo of Delta Gamma members taken from behind and wrote: “This is my view of the Mizzou Homecoming Parade today — Delta Gamma VNB’s.”

Mizzou College Democrats, concluding that VBN stood for “very nice butts,” accused Berry of objectifying women. Berry, who accused his accusers of making political hay, said he was just commenting on the women’s athletic build.

The Kappa Kappa Gamma campaign also coincides with other efforts on the Columbia campus this month encouraging positive attitudes toward women, including “Love Your Body Week” hosted by the University of Missouri Women’s Center.

Mizzou’s Panhellenic Association decided that it was “Taking Back Beauty” and encouraged women to leave their makeup at home. Many did, posting bare-faced selfies on Twitter using the hashtag #IAmMore.

Sororities nationwide have hit a rough patch of PR in recent weeks.

In late September, a group of Alpha Chi Omega sisters at Arizona State were publicly flogged after they were shown taking selfies in the stands at an Arizona Diamondbacks-Colorado Rockies game.

A TV camera caught eight of the women making selfie-faces. “That’s the best one of the 300 pictures I’ve taken of myself today!” one of the announcers cracked.

Earlier this month a fraternity-sorority party at the University of California at Los Angeles raised ire when some of the guests at the “Kanye Western”-themed party apparently darkened their faces with charcoal and brown paint.

Legislators are upset with college Greeks this week, too.

On Thursday U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York criticized national fraternity and sorority groups for lobbying to support a bill that would limit sexual assault investigations on college campuses.

“For me, it almost felt personal because I was in a sorority,” McCaskill told reporters.

Sororities have started pushing back against the public’s negative perception of what and who they are. In May, a sorority member at York College in Pennsylvania launched a “We Are Not Our Stereotypes” campaign to counteract negative press.

“I wanted to highlight the great individuals that also happen to be Greek, we as a community are incredibly motivated, bright individuals,” Kayleigh Dumas told the news website A Plus. “And somehow that gets stripped down as soon as we wear letters.”

In August Delta Gamma promoted its third annual “I Am a Sorority Woman” campaign to spotlight the philanthropic and community activities of the Greek community.

Response to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s new Facebook campaign has been overwhelmingly positive.

“So cool you guys did this,” wrote one woman. “It’s important to end the stigma we all face everyday. Stereotypes, Racism, Sexism, mental illness, self image, addiction ...

“Speaking up ends the power silence and shame have had for far to long. We’re all people born in love. We learn and absorb all the other garbage.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Mizzou’s Kappa Kappa Gamma fights sorority stereotypes with ‘Breaking Barriers’ campaign."