Bullying is an issue that every school deals with, from preschool to seniors in highschool. There are many different types of bullying, and although boys bullying can be dangerous, girl's tactics are more harmful and gangerous to their victims, giving bullying more of a reason to be viewed as a crime.
When boys fight, they get their anger out with a few swings of their fists, and the next day they are friends again. When it comes to girls though they hold grudges and know how to be nasty, in order to hurt the person that is making them upset. Girls bond by socializing, sharing secrets and spending hours talking about boys, fashion, and other interesets. Because girls bond differently than boys, who bond by engaging in sports and competitions, it makes sense why the two sexes would differ in bullying tactics.
Girls bully for a number of reasons, but some popular reasons are because of class, and ethnicity. In middle school, girls try to fit in and make new friends, so they usually move towards girls similar to themselves to become firends with. If an outsider tries to join in on their already established group, this person usually feels unwelcomed. For example, at my middle school there was a difference in groups between the Latin American girls and the Caucasian girls. The two groups never mixed, and at times had conflicts with one another.
Seeing girls bullying occur is a lot less noticable than boys. The University of Miami found that when girls bully, they use tactics sich as alienation, exclusions, and spreading of rumors to harass their victims, as well as getting other people to join in, so that the victim feels totally isolated from the social scene. This shows that girls like to have a sense of control over their vicitm, so that they feel superior among their peers. Also, when girls fight it tends to be in large groups against a single person. This is because girls like to do everything in large numbers, so when a fight breaks out, they pick and choose members to be on their side, and get them to join in on the bullying.
This can be a lot more dangerous than a simple fist fight that boys enagge in because being socially isolated can make girls feel insecure, who are a;ready naturally insecure as they try to fit in with the "popular crowd". Therefore, being shunned and made fun of can cause a girl to be emotionally damaged, and cause her to feel alone and that something is wrong with her, to have all these people making fun of her.
Bullied boys are four times more likely to be suicidal than the avergae boy, but bullues girls are eight times more likely, proving girs bullying is more harmfu. For this reason, schools should monitor bullying more closely and do their best to stop it.
Today, bullying is beginning to be viewed as a crime. Take for example fifteen year old Phoebe Prince who committed suicide after being bullied for months. Now, students, including an older boy whos he used to have a relationship with, are charged for bullying Phoebe so much that she turned to suicide. The question with this is: should the students be charged with bulling, or with the effect their bullying caused, which in Phoebe's case would be suicide? When violence occurs, law enforcemnt mise respond appropriately, therefore bullying can be viewed as a crime, and people should be punished. Also, once bullying becomes physical there is no doubt that it is a crime because then it is assault. Even if no physical damage is done, as seen in many bullying done by girls, any type of bullying is a crime because it is harassment and emotional damage is caused. Girls and boys should not be allowed to bully their peers to a point that is dangerous to their health, and therefore bullying should be taken more seriously, and viewed as a crime.
Boys fight with one another in a physical manner, while girls use tactics that involve emotional and mental abuse. Girls do this because they want to feel better about themselves and putting others down makes them feel superior. The harm girls can cause with these tactics of bullying can be tough to reverse, but can this be cause for legal action? Physical violence requires the law to step in, but girls who are unkind to one another by gossiping and excluding others should not be considered criminals. Girls may even rebel against these rules and bully more. Phoebe Prince, for example, was bullied by her peers. As horrible as this is, she could have sought counseling or transferred schools. Rather than giving in to bullying, she should have done more to fight bullying itself. I agree more should be done to put a stop to bullying in schools, but it cannot be stopped altogether even if laws against bullying are developed. Girls should take more action themselves to stop bullying from being such a serious issue, but bringing the word "criminal" into the equation may only create more problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree that girl bullying is much more serious than boy bullying. When boys bully, it last a couple days at the most and then it is over. Girl bullying can last for weeks or even months. Girls will recruit other girls to join their "pact" and join in on the bullying. Girls usually target a single girl and make her life miserable. They spread rumors about her and talk about her behind her back. Most girls are sensitive and this type of bullying really takes a toll on them. It is unfortunate that some even turn to suicide, like Phoebe Prince. Girls need to stop this type of bullying. I think that there should be a mandatory class in high school that everyone (especially girls) should be required to take to inform students about bullying and the effects it can have on those people being bullied. This is a serious issue that needs to be handled properly and promptly.
ReplyDeleteBullying can have a detrimental affect on both sexes. However, I do believe that girls bullying other girls has become the most common and has influenced more negative outcomes. Also, as previously stated, it is becoming so extreme that cases of suicide are occuring. It's rather disturbing to think that a group of girls are so insecure about themselves that they need to make some other girls life miserable. What makes it worse is that it even gets to the point where girls are thinking about suicide as a way out. Where are the adults, role models, or guidance counselors? How does it get this far?
ReplyDeleteReading this blog is upsetting and very true. I completely agree with what the blog is saying, and I can relate it to my own experiences. I know in my high school there were always those girls that were “picked on” and teased for unfair reasons, such as being a different ethnicity. It is sad to see, and I feel as though not enough is being done about the serious problem. Schools need to educate students more, and have meaningful punishments as a consequence of bullying. When girls fight, often through verbal attacks, the victim takes what is said more to heart than a boy would. I know when somebody says something negative about me I do not just ignore what is said, like many of my guy friends would do. I think about the comment made and wonder if it is true. Girls should not have to commit suicide because they are being bullied so badly, I feel as though there are other options. I believe that something needs to be done to prevent bullying of both sexes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this blog, because I can relate my experiences on bullying. When I was in middle school, I was made fun of, because of my learning disability. I also realized that my cousin has been bullying my sister and they're in middle school right now. It seems to be common with girls in middle school and high school. People need to educate kids more on bullying and the victim should let an adult know right away whether they are being bullied or not. We should spread the message out right away.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this blog, bullying is a terrible issue and should be taken more serious. Boys often fight over little things to look better then other boys, but it usually doesn't lead to more then just a few words back and forth. However, girls take it very far. It ususally isn't physical but the words they say and actions they do can be hurtful. Girls often bully to fit in with their group. I believe bullying should be taken more serious but I don't think it should be suicide. If the issue is taken care of earlier it wouldn't lead to death.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone has mentioned, girls and boys bullying greatly differ and while boys are more physical, women are more vicious and verbally abusive. I also agree that bullying as a whole should be taken more seriously as Katie has afore mentioned, because the issue has clearly gotten far out of hand in many areas. One of these instances where bullying has gone too far is the unfortunate case of Phoebe Prince. Phoebe was from Ireland and had moved to Massachusetts in the spring of 2009. Some of the verbal abuse that the girls at her school used against her included things about her being Irish. Bullying is not right to begin with, but we should not bully people because of their culture and nationality. Phoebe was just trying to fit into her new setting and instead she was ridiculed. Non-bullying programs should be more widely implemented and it should be made a point that we should be accepting of our classmates, no matter their gender, race, class, or nationality. Consequences of bullying should also be strictly enforced so that hopefully, cases like Phoebe's, will not occur in the future.
ReplyDeleteI read an article from http://www.boston.com/news/local/
massachusetts/articles/2010/01/24/the_untouchable_mean_girls/ to get more information about Phoebe’s case.
Having read this blog entry, I do agree with the general consensus that girls’ tactics of bullying can be way more harmful than the typical physical bullying of boys. I think that the main reason for this is because girls use verbal attacks when bullying other girls. This verbal harassment can lead to serious emotional damage for the victim. I think that the bullies should be held accountable for their actions, maybe not on a criminal standard, but I think that this country’s school systems should try to develop a universal standard on how to deal with bullying. I also agree that education on the subject to middle school and high school girls would be a great idea. One problem with bullying is that many bystanders to the situation refuse to stand up against bullying even though they know it is wrong. I think if parents and teachers encourage students to stand up against all bullying that it would make the world of difference.
ReplyDeleteI agree that bullying can be very destructive, emotionally and physically, especially among girls. However, I believe that one must take into account the fact that these bullys are still young and in the eyes of the law they are still considered to be minors. Making bullying a crime would make these children and adolescents criminals. This is a stigma which would follow them throughout the rest of their adult lives. I agree that bullying is wrong and that it should be handled effectively by teachers, school administrators, and if neceessary, law enforcement. However, I do not think that making it a crime in itself is the solution. These children should not be labeled as criminals for the rest of their lives becasue of mistakes they made when they were younger. However, if their bullying escalates to criminal action such as sexual harrassment, assault, or even suicide, then the issue of bullying must be handled in a legal manner.
ReplyDelete