What Bama Rush Means in 2025 - by Anne Helen Petersen

After four years of closely observing Bama Rushtok for a podcast project that got axed, I was ambivalent about covering it again — is there even anything new to say? But then I received at least 100 messages (in my email, over DM, comments on old posts) asking if I’d be recapping again, sending me Toks they thought were interesting, asking if I knew about the drama around Kylan’s little sister….and as anyone who’s stepped into this world knows, once you start looking it’s very difficult to stop. Also, turns out, there are new things to say — new trends, sure, but also new insights about the way BamaRush is reflecting a particular understanding of ideal American femininity….and how the ever-growing influx of out-of-state PNMS, influenced by TikTok, at once challenge those norms and reify them. In other words, it’s still a very rich ideological text. If you read my five-part series, Bama Confidential, you’re familiar with the basics: how rush works; how “The Machine” that controls campus

After four years of closely observing Bama Rushtok for a podcast project that got axed, I was ambivalent about covering it again — is there even anything new to say? But then I received at least 100 messages (in my email, over DM, comments on old posts) asking if I’d be recapping again, sending me Toks they thought were interesting, asking if I knew about the drama around Kylan’s little sister….and as anyone who’s stepped into this world knows, once you start looking it’s very difficult to stop. Also, turns out, there are new things to say — new trends, sure, but also new insights about the wa