Identity Work in Online Fraternal Spaces

Belonging Online

As social media platforms allow for interactions to scale and reach larger audiences, people in search of community can find others who share similar identities and interests through digitally mediated exchanges. Online platforms allow fraternity and sorority members the opportunity to engage in identity work — a process through which people manage and revise their identities. Online fraternal communities can be open to the public to view (e.g., r/frat on Reddit) or private such that membership is vetted to those who share a common identity (e.g., “Subtle Asian Greeks” on Facebook). Even hyper-curated submission sites like WatchTheYard.com serve as a window to performativity of the Black Greek experience.

Today’s students navigate a number of life transitions simultaneously, such as joining a fraternity/sorority, onboarding to a new campus job, or learning how to file taxes for the first time. Through these liminal stages, students make sense of their individual selves and collective place within higher education institutions. YouTube comments, relatable memetic tweets, and virtual learning environments open students to additional perspectives that shape their identity work. This process of discovery and expression is especially liberating for those of marginalized or historically underrepresented backgrounds, as online spaces democratize the way they share their experiences outwardly.

Motivation & Method

Having grown up with and alongside the internet, I sought to understand the effects of digital transformation within online communities, deeply captivated by the social networks, governance, and infrastructure that underpin them. My doctoral dissertation uncovered the ways in which individuals that identify within APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi American) communities negotiate collective action in the context of online identity work. Through interviews with online community moderators, I wanted to understand how APIDA folks build resilience in revising their identities; how people build resilience in the technical systems they use so identity work can happen; and how people work to decolonize their identities, or in other words, build an identity that is their own.

My fieldwork encompassed a broad, multi-sited investigation of the use of technology within and among online communities engaging in identity work. I conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 moderators on Reddit who facilitate identity work discourse in APIDA spaces, distilled recommendations for improving moderation in online communities centered on identity work, and discussed implications of racial identity in the design of Reddit and similar platforms.

In examining how marginalized communities are studied, reflexively understanding one’s race and ethnicity may bring certain affinities into perspective. I personally identify as Filipino American and engage in advocacy work for the APIDA community through my involvement with and role as Director of Membership for the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA). Through this involvement, I have the opportunity to highlight the work of constituent APIDA fraternities and sororities that collectively span 500+ local chapters at 150+ North American colleges and universities.

In my research, I found APIDA communities manifest belonging online through shared expressions of solidarity. Beyond the scope of my thesis, I also observed how fraternity and sorority members use online spaces to deliberate and negotiate tensions of their identity work among their peers. Based on that, an opportunity exists to elevate the fraternal advising profession by conceptualizing online identity work as part and parcel of student learning.

Why Identity Work Matters

Through my research it became clear identity work materializes in the way people talk among themselves, how they manage interactions within their groups, and the ways they align with the shared ideals of a movement. The relationship between offline and online fraternal spaces is linked in mutually informing ways that span personal, social, and collective contexts.

Identity work is a personal endeavor. People undergo identity work to understand their place in society and find meaning in the way they live their lives. Anonymous online platforms like Reddit afford individuals the ability to ask deeply personal questions or lurk for relevant answers without disclosing their own identities. One of the most common transitions young adults face is the shift from high school to college. In this transition, undergraduates experience emergent challenges that may disrupt their everyday routines and often turn to online spaces to attain the resources they need to return to a state of normalcy. For example, potential new members going through formal NPC sorority recruitment in 2019 may extensively search and scour relevant Instagram pages to learn more about the holistic bidding process. Thus, online spaces designed for identity awareness enable a wider understanding of new rules and norms when individuals embed new practices in their sense-making activities. By empowering individuals with agency and self-determination, online spaces serve an increasingly important role in constructing the ever-evolving personal identities of users.

Identity work is also a socializing process. Culturally-based fraternal organizations — particularly APIDA fraternities and sororities — have a particularly difficult time receiving adequate social support due to the contrasting traditional cultural beliefs of their parents and that of mainstream culture’s views of adequate social support. For example, the model minority myth fails to recognize the needs of APIDA students as it shrouds them in a veil of perceived excellence and accomplishment. Such societal expectations make APIDA students reluctant to seek assistance for dealing with issues critical to their overall health, well-being, and sense of self. Furthermore, the model minority myth reinforces a toxic mindset for APIDA students as it hinders the way they seek support for dealing with issues of mental health, sexual assault, and other taboos. As cultural barriers stigmatize APIDA students from openly receiving adequate resources and services offline, they seek social support in online communities to address the various issues they face on a daily basis. By allowing groups to form around social categories like race, gender, and special interests, online spaces facilitate the organization of social identities.

Finally, identity work is a community effort. Fraternities and sororities are deeply embedded in routines and logic more centered on the collective than the individual. Identity work can be expressed through signals of solidarity, particularly in times of crisis or uncertainty. After a fraternity house at a Georgia college burned down earlier this year, a viral GoFundMe campaign promptly raised more than $28,000 of its $30,000 goal in one day. Online spaces, as illustrated, provide a means for groups to amplify their intentions and strengthen their networks during times of unrest. By lending visibility for social movements in emergence, online spaces enable collective identities to mobilize more quickly than ever before.

Informing Praxis

Implications for chapter leadership: Effectively communicating in digital environments that facilitate identity work begins with prioritizing the safety and reputation of the spaces’ memberships. Scholarly critiques of Reddit as both a toxic corner of the internet and aggregator of crowd wisdom implore users to think critically about the content they consume. Thus, executive boards of collegiate chapters should be mindful of educating their peers on how they interact with public comments and the nearby surroundings in which they may be captured in an unflattering Snapchat story. Trace data are subject to screenshots and screen recordings.

Implications for alumni advisors: In a 2016 survey conducted by the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research (n=1392), 88 percent of NAPA-affiliated respondents reported receiving formal or informal advising from their chapter alumni and 98 percent cited their chapter upholds organizational values. 1 The involvement of respected alumni in advising capacities signals favorable learning outcomes for cultural identity education of a chapter. To prevent a generational disconnect between younger members and older advisors, both parties should establish a regular communication check-in cadence in messaging channels such as Slack that integrate seamlessly with chapter documentation and pinned file repositories.

Implications for campus-based professionals: Undergraduate students may not be aware of all the cultural, financial, and programming resources an institution offers to recognized student groups. Providing newly initiated fraternity and sorority members with a comprehensive network checklist — such as hyperlinks to join the appropriate university LinkedIn group, registering for OrgSync or an equivalent community management system, and following relevant department feeds — should be distributed at the beginning of each academic term.

Implications for fraternity and sorority headquarters professionals: Investing in online infrastructure that can scale with the size of the organization will pay dividends for increasing transparency of board-level decision-making. For example, facilitating a shared sense of belonging and purpose in virtual town halls is essential to build buy-in among chapters and clarify important questions asked via live stream. Additionally, providing collegians with regularly updated social media policies will help demarcate appropriate and inappropriate online behavior.

Onward Online

The future is intersectional. Fellow researchers may expand understanding of identity within fraternal communities by taking into account multifaceted social categories that intersect beyond gender and race. Within the fraternal community lies untold stories of military, ministry, and professional Greek-lettered memberships — a subset of students even opt to join multiple fraternal orders. Understanding complex intersections of identity work will allow us to more intentionally and inclusively design spaces of belonging for all types of members.

Yesterday’s Yik Yak is today’s TikTok. The platform de jour will continue to change as new trends in technology emerge. However, the desire for satisfying human connection and intellectual curiosity will undoubtedly persist. Online spaces fulfill the liminal and sensemaking needs of students and are often an accessible means for professionals in advisory roles to get a collective pulse on the ever-shifting attitudes and perceptions of fraternity and sorority life.

Dr. Bryan Dosono serves as the director of membership for the National APIDA Panhellenic Association and external vice president of Lambda Phi Epsilon International Fraternity. His dissertation research uncovered ways in which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders negotiate collective action in the context of their online identity work. He earned his Ph.D. in information science and technology at Syracuse University.

Online spaces, as illustrated, provide a means for groups to amplify their intentions and strengthen their networks during times of unrest. By lending visibility for social movements in emergence, online spaces enable collective identities to mobilize more quickly than ever before.

REFERENCES Dosono, B. (2019). Identity work of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on Reddit: Traversals of deliberation, moderation, and decolonization. Doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University. Dosono, B., Gee, B., Seoh, H. (2019). The National Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Panhellenic Association Resource Guide. Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.