The Benefits of Friends - by Jana Mathews

About the Book

"Combining firsthand observation with thoughtful analysis and research culled from sociology, cognitive psychology, biology, economics, and history, this thought-provoking book provides a clear-eyed look at contemporary Greek life on US college and university campuses. As higher education's most enduring and pervasive single-sex organizations, historically white fraternities and sororities emerge as powerful social influencers that privilege the same-sex platonic friend over other forms of relationship, at their best offering dynamic new relational possibilities along with social and economic security. At their worst, however, they exacerbate campus hookup culture, create fictive family bonds that hoard social and economic opportunity, and distort some of society's most foundational relationship categories, including friend, romantic partner, and family"--

Book Synopsis

In 2011, Jana Mathews's career took a surprising turn. What began as an effort for a newly minted college professor to get to know her students turned into an invitation to be initiated into a National Panhellenic Conference sorority and serve as its faculty advisor. For the next seven years, Mathews attended sorority and fraternity chapter meetings, Greek Week competitions, leadership retreats, and mixers and formals. She also counseled young men and women through mental health crises, experiences of sexual violence, and drug and alcohol abuse. Combining her personal observations with ethnographic field analysis and research culled from the fields of sociology, economics, and cognitive psychology, this thought-provoking book examines how white Greek letter organizations help reshape the conceptual boundaries of society's most foundational relationship categories--including friend, romantic partner, and family.

Mathews illuminates how organizations manipulate campus sex ratios to foster hookup culture, broker romantic relationships, transfer intimacy to straight same-sex friends, and create fictive family units that hoard social and economic opportunity for their members. In their idealized form, sororities and fraternities function as familial surrogates that tether their members together in economically and socially productive ways. In their most warped manifestations, however, these fictive familial bonds reinforce insularity, entrench privilege, and--at times--threaten physical safety.

Review Quotes

"A captivating book that expertly incorporates historical and contemporary literature from a variety of disciplines. With these strengths and the relevance of the topic to college students, the book could be used in a variety of sociology courses to examine how traditions, gender dynamics, and sexual expression are affected by power, prestige, racism, misogyny, classism, and organizational memberships."--Contemporary Sociology

"Useful for readers seeking to understand the wide array of social and cultural dynamics that emerge in spaces of concentrated privilege. . . . [A] useful addition to undergraduate courses focused on gender, sexuality, and/or social inequalities."--Gender & Society

"Essential . . . . Mathews digs deep into a world below the surface of publicly marketed university life, engaging readers in conversation regarding the future of these organizations, which both critics and advocates of Greek life can appreciate. Mathews brings together research, thoughtful reflection, and personal accounts with a captivating style. Campus leaders will value the opportunity for campus discussion alongside potential research topics with an in-depth bibliography for students. This is necessary reading for higher education professionals."--CHOICE

"Mathews didn't want to make an argument for whether to abolish Greek-life
organizations, as some have recently called for. She instead dove deeply into how fraternity and sorority relationships can uplift students while also perpetuating harm--with the goal of prompting a more informed conversation about the future of the groups."--The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Mathews digs deep into a world below the surface of publicly marketed university life, engaging readers in conversation regarding the future of these organizations, which both critics and advocates of Greek life can appreciate. Mathews brings together research, thoughtful reflection, and personal accounts with a captivating style. Campus leaders will value the opportunity for campus discussion alongside potential research topics with an in-depth bibliography for students. This is necessary reading for higher education professionals . . . . Essential."