I mentioned yesterday that a couple YA books I'd read had mean girls in them.
They were popular in school and at the top of the food chain.
And they were involved in some brutal bullying.
A recent Twitter feed from Agent Mandy Hubbard asked if anyone REALLY had queen bee mean girls in their high school.
And it got me thinking.
I, for one, DID NOT. There was a very popular girl (the queen bee, if you will) named Laura. But she wasn't mean or a bully. Everyone was just dying to be her friend.
Which begs the question: Do these kind of characters really exist or do they only make good fiction?
YOUR THOUGHTS?
22 comments:
I've seen this question come up recently. I was bully by a few mean girls in junior high (fortunately they went to different high schools), but they weren't popular girls. Not even close. We had the typical cliques, but the Mean Girls didn't exist in my HS.
LOL. Maybe they're just an urban myth.
They exist, but not in the way you think. In each school, there are clicks and each click has it own mean queen bee. Lord help the school that has the queen bee that rules THOSE queen bees. LoL.
~JD
My high school had 5000 students in it. It was impossible to know everyone. the closest we got was our school president, but I bet you half of the students couldn't tell you her name.
But in middle school, we did. I still remember them. Ugh. It's worse then, in my opinion because you're going through all the awkward puberty stuff at the time and here's these girls with makeup and boobs and stuff. Very intimidating.
I don't recall a group of Mean Girls that everyone worshipped and adored...but there were plenty of girls you knew to stay away from. I think there were those cliques where you wished you were a part of them...there were certain issues that would evoke the Meanness in the popular pretty girls....but it was never just random bullying.
I definitely think there are mean girls out there, but I was more of the wallflower high school kid, so know one started drama with me. I guess that's a goods thing :o/
I think they exist, but I didn't experience it in high school. My graduating class was 500 people so everyone just kind of stuck to their own cliques. I have experienced, as a Navy wife, many mean girls. I am convinced those people feel bad about themselves so they attempt to put themselves in positions of power over other people.
Personally we had a Queen Bee way back when, she wasn't mean, but she was the center o everything, I was one of her followers...ick.
As a middle school teacher (they are a tough crowd) I see the mean queen bee alive and thriving.
My daughters are in 10th (almost 11th) grade and they say things are calmer and not at cruel in high school.
I went to a large highschool for two years, and the other two a very small one and neither of them had the mean girl queen bee. Was there bullying, sure, but not by a particular group of ladies. We did have a queen bee in the larger school but she was as sweet as she could be. I didn't experience it until becoming an army wife like Andrea said above me ^^^^ in the world where the rank and power of our husbands sometimes bleeds into the wives, they become just...nasty! So I do believe they exist mine just happened later in life.
Middle school, huh?
Wow the stuff you are saying about military wives is unbelievable!
Yes, they really do. I see it at the high school where I teach. Girls are truly nasty and mean to other girls they don't like. ("I can't work in a group with her. She smells/looks/dresses funny." My only comfort is that someday they will grow up!!
They didn't exist in my school either. But I get the feeling that things have changed since I went to school.
Not that I'm old or anything. Really.
I think it really depends on the girl, or person. The girl in my high school was super nice and that is why she was on top of the food chain. However a lot of girls easily judge and if they are unhappy that they don't have that ranking they begin to think the girl is rude and out to get everyone.
So I'd say that every person might have that one person that is the "mean girl" it is just different for everyone.
Great post!
I think it depends on the school. In my huge high school, knowing everybody in your grade (let alone all four grades) is impossible. Even if there are "mean girls," they will mostly be queen bees of their own social groups, not the entire school, and their social groups are pretty self-selected.
THEY EXIST
Unfortunately. Usually it's not so much outright cruelty as it is subtlety and acting like you aren't important/ don't exist.
I usually flew under their radar, but I saw it happen to some less fortunate girls. (especially in the locker room where everyone is already self-conscious) and it made me really sad.
oh, they exist all right.
I don't recall any really mean girls in school. There were those I was afraid of, when I was in Jr High, but wasn't really bullied. I'm sure they are out there though!
i think they definitely exist in some places, but it varies from place to place.
big sigh.
i think it's just easier to force things into stereotypes.
There were definitely cliques and we had one made of what we decided were 'tough' girls -- girls not afraid of getting in your face if they didn't like you, but they pretty much kept to themselves.
I believe the Army/Navy/Marine wives comments. They really believe they're an extension of their husband's positions. Give a small person a position of power and you have a despot.
That´s a good point, my school actually had the queen bee, but she wasn´t mean, she was very nice too. She was my best friend actually. We eventually parted but that was only after graduation.
my whole life i felt like i never met the stereotypical characters portrayed in most books/movie/pop culture. they certainly make for interesting fiction but i love literature and movies with more nuanced unique characters, those speak to me more and ring true.
I think it is, "Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?" There were mean girls at my school, and there were the "populars" I don't remember ALL of them being overly snotty.
Hmm I went to a high school where each year level had less than 90 students. Everyone were friends. No mean girls. :)
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