The MIAKA Mess: Much to do about nothing

Reference:  Male Sorority: http://www.bet.com/News/MIAKASAKA.htm

by: Meredith Moises, Acting Director of Constituency, www.nbjc.org

I have read the self righteous diatribes about the MIAKA photos recently circulated on the internet. I have heard Black greeks rail against gays and the soiling of their good name. Blah, blah, blah.....

The truth is that MIAKA has damn near been around forever. Black greek lettered orgs have had affiliate/sweetheart groups for a long time. The Deltas also have a prominent sweetheart group of men called "GQ": Gentlemen of Quality.

Alot of the guys that belong to the sweetheart groups are gay. This is no a secret. They have always been there and "sorors" don't have any problem calling on them when they need something or they have to pay for something. The striking thing about this mess is that these boys are no longer in the shadows or underground. They have literally come out and given face to a very well known but unspoken throng within the Black greek movement.

Many people, including my beloved fellow Black greeks, have used this occassion to bleat out anti gay remarks. I have heard "abomination", "unnatural", "it just ain't right". But I must counter, what ain't right about it? It's all laughs when these guys can entertain on campus, do a "soror's" hair, and help put together a step show.

But it's not right when they finally come above ground. People need to stop the front and recognize that these boys and many like them are around and we know who they are. Black people need to grow up and face the reality of what this is about.

This is really about the purpose of Black greek sweetheart groups. For every line of MIAKAs or GQs, there are 3 to 4 lines of Sigma doves/souls, Kappa diamonds/sweethearts, and Que pearls. And many of the sisters that join these sweetheart groups subject themselves to all kinds of abuse, including sexual assault. I have heard so many stories about the nights at the "blank-blank" house where "so and so" got drunk and a brother took her upstairs to "lay her down". She got laid down, alright!

The sexual assaults, mind games, and rampant promiscuity is par for the course for many of these sweetheart sisters and the brothers they serve in these groups.

This is not a new situation. Among the Back greeks, the sweetheart question has been going on for some years now. Many sorors hate it and of couse, frat doesn't see a problem. However, with the advent of the MIAKA photos, there is suddenly a problem to address-but not the one the homophobes are promoting.

I think that we, as members of Black greek lettered orgs, need to reexamine the purpose for the sweeheart groups. Do they really serve a purpose, beside being a clearing house for fraternity libido? What is the end goal of the sweethearts? We need to be real: for alot of the female sweethearts, this is a chance to get close to the brothers, maybe get a date or even something else. Do the frats really need sweetheart to do community service? Or are sweethearts there just to be pimped?