"heartland of beautiful girls. We know this to be true if we are followers-however casually-of something called RushTok, and we know it to be enduringly true because the above sentence was written by Terry Southern in 1963, in " Twirling at Ole Miss," which was published in Esquire and then included in Tom Wolfe's essential 1973 anthology, The New Journalism."
"Those of us who got in at the beginning were observing something being freshly transformed into content, still trailing mists of its previous, unobserved state. This was before sorority rush was turned into reality television and podcasts and exposés and brand endorsements, and before the introduction of new characters, such as rush mothers and rush coaches, and before rush became a launch pad not only to a successful social life but also to a chance at TikTok stardom"
RushTok chronicles young women navigating sorority rush at southern universities and has transformed rush into packaged, monetizable content. The culture now includes outfit showcases, branded endorsements, and new professional roles like rush mothers and coaches. Sorority rush has been repurposed into reality-television-style narratives, podcasts, and exposés, creating pathways to TikTok stardom and influencer livelihoods. The Southern PNM aesthetic remains highly standardized while the social ritual has become a platform for social and financial advancement. The phenomenon blends regional style with digital attention economies, reshaping traditional college social rites into commercial opportunities.
Read at The Atlantic
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