Are ALL college boys the same?

College Education has many stereotypes associated with not only the academic aspect, but also the social environment of college students.  Producers create movies to entertain an audience by depicting certain characteristics of college. When movies attempt to depict college life they often include many stereotypes about the “typical” college students and their journeys through college.  For example, “American Pie: Beta House” includes numerous gender stereotypes about males.

The movie focuses on the fraternity Beta House. A fraternity is known as a “brotherhood”, meaning the boys spend all their time having fun and learning important life lessons together.  Because of all the time spent with one another, the boys all become best friends. Stereotypically boys become friends with the people they are with the majority of the time.  This is supported by not only “American Pie: Beta House”, but also Deborah Tannen’s article “How Male and Female Students Use Language Differently”. Tannen states that “For boys, activities are central: Their best friends are the ones with whom they do things with.” (Tannen, 345). In a fraternity you typically live with your “brothers” and spend a majority of your time with them. According to Tannen this is the reason the boys grow close to each other.

An essential part of “American Pie: Beta House” is the Greek Olympiad, a banned competition that is reborn between the legendary beta house and the new GEK house, where the boys compete in numerous events that test their manhood. The boys go against each other to decide which fraternity is better. Stereotypically, boys love competition and friendships are born through competition. Boys are expected to “seize center stage: by exhibiting their skill, displaying their knowledge, and challenging and resisting challenges” (Tannen, 346). In the Greek Olympiad, the boys challenge each other to show off their skills and prove their fraternity is the best.

A fraternity is a hierarchy. The president is on top followed by the brothers and then the pledges. The pledges are put through hazing by the older brothers. Once the pledges survive the hazing period they are initiated and move up to become brothers. This hierarchy is what draws boys to the fraternity setting, although they may not realize it.  Boys “tend to play in larger groups that are hierarchal” (Tannen, 345). Since the fraternity is a hierarchy, the brothers tell the pledges what to do and the pledges have no choice but to listen. In “American Pie: Beta House” the president Dwight gets his choice in the events during the Greek Olympiad. He chooses the best challenges to participate in and gives the rest to the lower ranked men.

These gender stereotypes make movies that depict college relatable. According to the gender stereotypes all boys are fundamentally the same, although this is not always true. Some boys do not like completion, but the majority does. Deborah Tannen’s article shows that these stereotypes are prevalent all through schooling, not just college. These stereotypes impact college education greatly. Many college classes have discussions and debates in class. Since boys grow through competition, girls are at a disadvantage in class. On the other hand some schools are geared toward the opposite side and hinder boys learning style.