Effects of Girls Who Bully Other Girls
Effects of Girls Who Bully Other Girls
Bullying can take many different forms especially in a society that values technology so highly. Text bullying and online bullies are quite common. In particular, a girl bullying victims will often be much more subtle in the tactics used.
Queen Bees and Wanna Bees
Girls will usually form groups and use these to their advantage, encouraging a group to gang up on one victim. The Queen Bee is the leader and holds the keys of power to the clique. It is she who dictates what to wear, how to talk, walk and befriend.
The Wanna Bees, the other girls in the clique are in fear of disappointing the leader of the pack. They are eager to share the power and gain favor in the eyes of the other mean girls in the group.
All girls want to belong to a social group and have friends. Queen Bees, the leader of a clique, can decide their fate in school. It is all about power.
Effects of Cyberbullying
Because students prefer to use phones for texting rather than talking, many texts and messages fly through cyber air about who is in and who is out.
One seventh grade girl told me recently, “None of our fights were face to face, we were too afraid the teacher would catch us. It is easier to fight online, because you feel more powerful. You can also be as mean as you want to on FaceBook. It is kind of fun to “dis” somebody.”
Cyberdramas of Girls
If there is a conflict between teenage couples, surprisingly, the girls will blame the girl and want to “punish her.” In the Phoebe Prince suicide in Massachusetts, even though the boy and girl were no longer dating, when he started dating Phoebe, she was bullied and attacked.
The groups will usually pick and choose their members and exclude others, sometimes completely at random.
While it is normal for both girls and boys to form social groups and strong bonds that naturally exclude others, it becomes bullying when power plays over individuals or other groups are involved.
Questions on Girls and Cyberbullying – We welcome comments
- Why do you think girls turn against each other over the attention of a boy?
- Do all cultures have cliques of girls?
- Do you remember a Queen Bee from middle school?
- Why do you think it is important for a young girl to fit into a group?
- Is cyberbullying more dangerous than face-to-face bullying?
Tags: bullying girls, cyberbullying, cyberbullying teens, effects of bullying, Facebook, mean girls, middle school bullying
September 8th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Great information. It is clear that parties on both sides of this issue need help. The victim feels alone, embarrassed and scared and desperately needs and wants the protection of their parents /caregiver. The aggressor needs the help of counselor to help identify the root cause of this type of behavior.
This problem becomes devastating when it all too often goes on unnoticed until it is to late. Please go to http://www.theratstore.com for a simple and effective tool, for parents and guardians, that facilitates the necessity of being proactive parent when your children are in the virtual world.