Girls vs. Boys, there is a difference!

We have surely all heard of the school yard bully that took lunch money from the scrawny little kid in a alley on the way to school.  When we discuss bullying that is the image that comes to mind for many of us.  But unfortunately, bullying has taken on many different forms and fashions here in the fourteenth year of the twenty-first century.
The thing that is becoming glaringly apparent is that boys and girls both participate in bullying, but they do so in a very different way.  Boys tend to play out the physical aspects of bullying: fighting,  taking lunch money, and teaming up against one kid. Girls are another story entirely.  They can be downright evil with their behavior.  Now, before everyone starts getting mad at me, I am not saying that girls are evil. (In fact, some of my favorite people are the girls). It is some of their behaviors that are evil.  Relational aggression is the term being used to define girl bullying.  This term is more accurate than bullying because girls use their RELATIONSHIPS to gain power over others.  Some examples of this include exclusion, spreading rumors, and reveling secrets.  Girls can be cruel and demeaning with their behavior.  This relational aggression is what keeps my door revolving during the school day.  "...This person said this about me, and now my best friend doesn't like me anymore."  "Why does my friend believe those rumors when they know that they aren't true?"  And so goes the angst of the middle school mayhem.
So, why have I gone of this little tyrant telling you about the difference between girl and boys and their bullying styles?  Great question!!  My sole intention is to let everyone know that bullying no longer fits in a neat little box like it used to when Ralphy was walking home from school in "The Christmas Story" facing his school yard bully.



Bullying takes on the face of the girls in the movie mean girls.



Anyone can be bully, and anyone can be a target.  Our next steps are teaching our students resiliency and how to handle the bullying behavior.  While we can not prevent our students from becoming a target, we can prevent them from becoming a victim!