Racist perceptions on a college campus: Intersectionality of gender, race, and Greek affiliation

This paper analyzes whether and how gender, race, and Greek affiliation, along with symbolic and traditional racial attitudes, are associated with racist perceptions on a college campus located in the deep south of the United States. To answer this question, we used survey data collected in 2013 from undergraduate students enrolled in a large Southern, including in our sample 1,003 Greek affiliated students and 2,176 non-Greek affiliated students. Using multivariate data analysis, our results showed that White and male participants had higher levels of racist perceptions than Black and female participants, and that the race and racist perceptions relationship was much stronger among Greek-affiliated than non-Greek respondents. Lastly, the two racial attitudes factors were found to mediate the relationships between social status factors and racist perceptions. From a critical race theory perspective, this study results should shed light on the importance of viewing Greek life in the broader context of society, considering the impact of racist perceptions within our higher education system.