Logically, when people want to make friends, and “up” their popularity status, they are nice to others. In high school, it seems that girls do this the opposite way, and are mean to one another in order to bond with friends and become more popular. This paper will discuss reasons why adolescent girls tend to put down others, rather than be nice and respectful as shown in the movie Mean Girls. Most of the aggressions between girls in high school are not a one-way system. The issue of aggression at hand is more of a two-way process of attack and retaliation.
In addition, she witnesses her daughters grow up with Barbie influence. Smiley believes that Barbie dolls can be role models for young girls, and she also thinks girls like Barbie because with the doll they can discover new things, girls define their femininity, and it is their liking during childhood. Jane Smiley states that young girls like Barbie dolls because they can try on a no-holds-bared (376). Smiley’s daughters are in the childhood stage when they are often curious to try something. Smiley says, “Both of them learned how to put makeup before kindergarten” (376).
Soon enough her father died and kids started picking on her about her complexion. Char the most popular girl in the grade, makes a deal with Maleeka that if she does her homework for her Char will always stick up for her and allow Maleeka to borrow clothes. Maleeka wants to be so liked by people in school she agrees and starts hanging out with Char. A new teacher than arrives at the school. Miss Saunders also gets made fun of because of the big blotch she has on her face which is her birth mark.
Partially in saying that, women mostly feel the need to make themselves look good because they themselves see them only being attracted to the good looking guys and the only way they think of trying to do this, is by using their looks as a part of attracting the opposite gender. Society automatically assumes most girls will all have the same type of attributes. They’re expected to be nice, attractive, mature, emotional, and not too aggressive. Women are automatically judged the second they are seen by the public. If women were to step out of their own determined “role” they’re then automatically considered as outcasts by society.
Kat is disappointed with teenage popularity and claims “I’m not hostile, just annoyed” This shows her choice to ignore the upcoming dramas of teenage normalcy and embrace her own individuality. Her attitude shows she has deep anger issues likely caused by her Mother’s abandonment and the fact that her younger sister is now the centre of attention. “I don’t only want to be an object to be adored” With the use of this quote it shows her anger towards today’s society and the only way to belong to something is to be ‘popular’ or to just be an object for everyone else’s entertainment. Kat is outspoken in class and expresses strong feminist views from Betty Friedan, Simone de Beauvoir, and Sylvia Plath, which help support her theory and aggression towards teenage ‘normalcy.’ But by the end of the movie Kat starts to fall in love with Patrick who is very similar to her and is happy not fitting in with the expectations of teenage popularity, therefore she finds her sense belonging and learns that pushing people away isn’t always the answer. With the interaction of the people around her they had shaped her into the girl she was and the women she
The research also showed how these issues can be corrected or even prevented. Most often it is easy to spot girls who battle with low self-esteem and low self confidence, by their body language and conversations. Most girls experience insecurity or low self-esteem around the middle school years. The need to focus on the elementary and middle school years is far more important today than it was twenty years ago. Ashes for Beauty there are only gainers and no losers.
She also admits that boys and girls do have many differences, which cause them to behave differently. Orenstein observed that in many situations the teacher ignored the girls when they raised their hands while the boys would blurt-out answers without the teacher scolding them for it. The boys, she observed, usually dominated the classroom discussions while the girls would be very hesitant to raise their own hands for fear of having the wrong answer. Many of the girls Orenstein interviewed said that boys do not care if they are wrong
Cady spied on the Plastics and shares with Janice and Damien every details she learn about them. Every story and every secret the Plastics would tell her, she shares them with her two friends and they would laugh about how low the Plastic could be. Along the way, she yielded to peer pressure when she decided to join the Math club despite everybody telling her that being a member of that team means social suicide. For her part, Cady did not care much about being accepted by the society because she preferred to be on the Math team despite the effect it may have on her status. Only through this, did she show her true colors because she admitted she loves Math when everybody hates the subject.
Unfortunately, in thier adolescent years, girls and boys are influenced to take classes that are deemed appropriate for their gender. Most students in parenting or home economics classes are female. Males densely populate the agriculture and mechanic classes. Susan Jacoby wrote “When Bright Girls Decide That Math Is a Waste of Time” She speaks of how math and science are considered masculine subjects. Jacoby feels that this stereotype causes smart girls to under achieve.
“I am going to make you talk you sissy-girl.” Kingston stated to the girl that she picked on during school and tried to make her talk because she did not speak to her. Kingston wanted her to yell stop or say something because she could not stand the fact that the girl did not stand up for herself. She could not face her because of how weak she presented. Kingston does not believe that women should be fragile. From my personal perspective, women should be able to speak up for themselves and should be treated equal to that of a male.