Sororities, Social Media, and Slut Shaming: How Lucy Taylor is Lifting the Veil on Greek Life
A behind-the-scenes look at SNAPPED: The Podcast.
by AINSLEY HOLMAN ★ JULY 26, 2020
When embarking on their freshman year, all college students strive to find a place where they “belong.” Whether it is a sports team, academic organization, or performance group, students are continuously striving to connect with an aspect of community on campus. Recent college graduate Lucy Taylor had the same idea her freshman year, but what she did not foresee was that the community she joined — her sorority — would quickly turn into one that made her feel unsafe, unwanted, and, most notably, unprotected. Aided with a podcast microphone, countless tales of sorority world, brutal honesty, and unmatched storytelling skills that draw you in and keep you morbidly enthralled, Taylor exposes the harsh realities of Greek life on her new podcast SNAPPED.
Of course, Taylor did not go through recruitment and join a sorority with the intention of disaffiliation. “I wanted a squad, a girl gang,” Taylor remarked. “Also, everyone I knew was doing it, and it was just the thing to do.”
Taylor details her recruitment process in the first episode, “RUSH,” one of six installments Taylor has planned for the podcast series. In the pilot episode, the ex-sorority girl takes you through the ins and outs of recruitment, explaining each step of the way, as well as showcasing her own journey and how she felt throughout the process. Accompanied by sound effects of girls talking over one another and sorority members chanting their house songs, Taylor makes you feel like you are right next to her in the moment she is retelling.
“I subconsciously knew that I wanted to be in a top tier sorority, and I wanted to feel validated that I was pretty and cool,” Taylor explained when discussing why she picked her house. “Greek life, at its core, is a caste system, and I was in that top caste.”
Credit: Lucy Taylor
The candid honesty displayed throughout the series is unique and refreshing. As Taylor holds your hand and guides you through her journey of becoming the “perfect” sorority girl, experiencing slut-shaming via social media, navigating intimidation from older members, processing sexual assault and harassment from a fraternity brother, and eventually, disaffiliating from the organization she was so excited to join, Taylor slowly starts to remove the rose-colored glasses listeners may be wearing.
SNAPPED is an eye-opener, to say the least. Though Taylor is recounting her own experience as a member of Greek life, she touches on specific aspects of sorority and fraternity culture that can be found at all schools, and perhaps even in all chapters. In the episode “ONE IN FIVE,” Taylor bravely opens up about when she was raped by a member of her house's “brother” fraternity. Furthermore, she shares how this experience was handled by her chapter, the fraternity in question, and the university. Taylor's story is not abnormal. Women in sororities are 74% more likely to experience rape than other college women, and fraternity men are three times more likely to commit rape than their non-Greek peers.
The cover art for “ONE IN FIVE”
Credit: Lucy Taylor
This event, as well as a cumulation of various abuses of power within the sorority, led Taylor to disaffiliate only eight months after joining the chapter. “I no longer felt safe,” Taylor explained. “I realized I couldn't be on the other side of rush and tell [potential new members] that this is the best sorority to be in. I would just be lying to them, and I couldn't do that. I had to stop lying to myself.”
According to Taylor, her disaffiliation process moved “very quickly.” As she details in episode five, “GOD DAMN INDEPENDENT,” Taylor didn't want the disaffiliation to be too serious, and ended up sending her pledge class group chat a video singing a mashup of Gotta Go My Own Way, How Far I'll Go, Defying Gravity, and Breakaway in an epic mic drop-worthy moment. “I wanted it to be funny where no one could hate on me for it,” Taylor said.
The cover art for “GOD DAMN INDEPENDENT”
Credit: Sofia Ilic
After dropping her sorority, Taylor started to focus on other aspects of college, such as doing well in her classes, involving herself in other extracurriculars, and cultivating new friendships. However, in the back of her mind, Taylor knew she wanted to do something creative regarding her experience in Greek life.
“For a while, I had the vision to do a web series. In summer 2018, I started to write everything down that I could remember about my time in my sorority,” Taylor explained. “It wasn't until I went abroad in fall 2019 and took a class on podcast production that I realized SNAPPED would work better in the podcast form. I wanted the listener to be in my shoes.”
After finishing up her time abroad, Taylor came back to campus and continued to develop SNAPPED and began to produce the six-part series, all surrounding Taylor's story as the “top tier sorority girl dropout.”
The first episode was released on May 14 and was met with an immense amount of positive feedback and praise. In the two months that SNAPPED has been live, the podcast has accumulated 5,500 downloads across various streaming platforms (at press time). “In general, I've had an amazing reaction. Everyone has been very supportive and saying how much they relate,” Taylor said. “There have been some haters sprinkled in, but if I'm doing something good, of course, there are going to be haters.”
Outside of producing the podcast, Taylor and her team, Meghan Thompson and Isabel Brecher, have been hard at work on social media, posting regularly on their Instagram, @snappedthepodcast. The page keeps listeners up to date on new episodes and gives a platform to those that desire reform within Greek life.
The SNAPPED Instagram
Credit: @snappedthepodcast
SNAPPED allows listeners, primarily those in Greek life, to take a step back from the fun mixers and date nights, the larger-than-life chapter houses, and the eerily perfect social media presence that surrounds sorority world and realize that behind it all is an ugly, broken system that at its core is destructive and problematic. Greek life's promotion and perpetuation of sexism, racism, and negative body image are just a few problematic aspects Taylor showcases via SNAPPED.
“While there is the struggle to be completely honest and vulnerable in the podcast, it has given me so much closure while reliving these moments from a bird's eye view,” Taylor conveyed. “I think it's a story that a lot of people will relate to, and I'm happy that the listeners get to feel my sense of closure.”
Regarding the future of SNAPPED, Taylor wants “everyone to hear it, especially college freshmen that are looking to rush.” It is important that college students listen to Taylor’s story to understand the questionable aspects of sorority and fraternity life and decide if that path is right for them. Taylor is also hoping to create a season two of SNAPPED, where she brings guests on to share their stories regarding Greek life.
While the podcast series may only be six episodes long, Taylor doesn't see it ending there. “I see it being impactful in the long run,” Taylor said. “I know my stories about sorority life aren't the only ones out there, and it's time that people recognize what is wrong with Greek life and really open their eyes to the truth.”
Listen to SNAPPED here.
Follow SNAPPED on Instagram here.