Aggressiveness in Girls
When people think of a bully, they picture an oversize older boy picking on the younger nerdy boys for their milk money, lunch, etc. It is a common stereotype because boys are more likely than girls to engage in bullying activity, especially when it comes to physical violence (Sheras, 2002, p.25). Bullies come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and even gender. It is less obvious in girls to be bullies because our society today views females as being gentle and nature, and it isn't lady like to be involved in aggressive behavior.
There is a hidden culture of girl's aggression in which bullying is epidemic, distinctive, and destructive. Girls use backbiting, exclusion, rumors, name-calling, and manipulation to inflict psychological pain on targeted victims. Unlike boys, who tend to bully acquaintances or strangers, girls attack within their own group of friends. This makes it harder to identify and increases the damage to the victims (Simmons, 2002, p. 3).
It is far too imperative that we learn the signs of aggression and the signs of the aggressors so we may learn the causes of this phenomenon. Especially in female aggression, we tend to overlook the obvious. We don't see girls as being aggressive but just doing what girls do. But those of us who know what it is like first hand to be victimized and ostracized by our own friends still feel the long lasting effects it has on our lives.
Bullying in girls is said to peak between the ages of ten and fourteen (Simmons, 2002, p. 4). This adolescent period is characterized by physical changes as well as cognitive and social-emotional changes. During this time, an adolescents' relationship with her peers is most important for support and approval of ...
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...you, it is possible to overcome a bullying situation. Facing the aggressors themselves should not be considered. Knowing that there is family there for support is always a benefit. The most important thing to know is that it is not at all your fault if you become the victim of aggression. Know that you are not alone in your struggle and know that when it is over you will come out of the situation knowing yourself better and will be able to help other cope in the same situation.
References
Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A.A. (2001). Understanding Psychology (5th ed.). New
Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Sheras, P. & Tippins, S (2002). Your Child: Bully or Victim? : Understanding and
Ending School Yard Tyranny. USA: Skylight Press
Simmons, Rachel (2002). ODD GIRL OUT: The hidden culture of aggression in
girls. USA: Harcourt, Inc.
There are bullies everywhere you go some noticeable and others not at all, you may not recognize a bully because they come in many different forms. The abusiveness of bullies’ is usually deliberate and not accidental. There are bullies at work, online, in the public and mostly school. So who is a bully? A bully is a person that causes emotional, psychological, or physical harm by using two different types of attacks. The first type being direct attacks, this consists of threatening, teasing, taunting, name calling, stealing, damaging of belongings, and hitting. Studies say that this type of attack is more common between males. “While both boys and girls say others bully them by making fun of the way they look or talk, boys are more likely to report being hit, slapped, or pushed”( Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Morton, Scheidt 2001). The other type of attacks are indirect, they are spreading of rumors and encouraging others to reject someone else. Studies say that this type of attack is more common between females. “Teenage girls are more often the targets of rumors and sexual comments” ( Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Morton, Scheidt 2001). Bullies usually target people who are different, it may be physical differences or even intelligence, and also they tend to target people who won’t retaliate back. They usually harass the person by attacking at there differences and imperfections. So a bully is someone who causes harm to others over and over again.
Although bullying itself can be violent behavior, often times violence is an actual after effect of the harm done by the bullying. Because of the depression or low self esteem after a bullying incident, both bullies and victims sometimes feel the need to lash out violently in order to handle the situation at hand. Although this is not necessary, in some minds this is the only way to handle a situation. These violent lashes can often lead to more serious violence and even illegal activity that could end in criminal charges. One clear cut way to avoid some of these major violence issues is to know how to handle the
Salmivalli, C. (2010). Bullying and the peer group: A review. Aggression & Violent Behavior, 15(2), 112-120. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2009.08.007
Rachel Simmons was amazed there were so many books regarding aggression in boys, but was unable to find any books on the subject of girls’ aggression. The experiments that were conducted regarding aggression were also only performed using males. Many psychologists considered aggression to be behavior such as hitting, punching, name calling and threatening others as a male issue. Simmons discovered from the many interviews she conducted on women that aggression is just as much a female issue. In her book, “The Odd Girl Out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls”, Simmons interviews many women and girls who were victims of bullying, were the actual bully, and also people who witnessed the abuse. Simmons’ purpose for writing this book was to make everyone aware of the secretive way girls bully each other, and to show how they hide their aggression, which many times is the result of their own struggle for acceptance. This book was effective because Simmons also gives the reader suggestions to help everyone involved in some form of aggressive behavior know how to deal with this behavior, and the lifelong consequences it has on everyone involved.
Bullying has both short term and long effects on the victim. A victim of someone who has been bullied for so long can lead to them bullying other individuals, making this a never-ending cycle. "Bu...
Why are females aggressive? Do they only use it to get the entities they want, or could it be within their genes? Each female, differs from the next female. Women have their own ways of showing aggression, and their individual ways of handling it. I think aggression is an attitude used by everyone, not just females. I am not an aggressive person, but I have been to the extremes in life. I have discovered techniques; later discussed in this research that will improve my viewpoint towards others. My lack of assertiveness keeps me from being an outspoken person as I should be . I am typically a shy, quiet person. Most females and males can be aggressive when competing for something he or she wants. I am slowly trying to act confidently towards others and become more assertive in my everyday decisions.
A high school student cried as she recounted being tormented in middle school by her classmates. For some reason she was targeted as a “dog,” and day after day she had to walk the halls with kids barking at her. How did it stop? The girl said she stopped it. But how? She picked out another girl, someone worse off than herself, and started to call her dog. Then the others forgot about her. Then they barked at the other girl instead. Girls may be made of sugar and spice and everything nice, but on the inside, they are just plain mean. “Girls tease, insult, threaten, gossip maliciously, and play cruel games with their friends’ feelings and set up exclusive cliques and hierarchies in high schools.” (Omaha World Herald, 10A).
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