This I Know!
OH YES! WE KNOW GIRLS ARE DIFFERENT THAN BOYS!
Why are girls so mean and nasty to each other? Just ask...every girl of every age has a story about what some girl did to her, starting with you.
Perhaps your story includes what you did to some girl. girl aggression is an epidemic.
"I hate girls, they are so mean. Boys express their hostility in a different way. They seem to yell or fight it out and then forget it. Girls don’t do that, they sneak around, roll their eyes, whisper and try to get you back in little ways no one even sees."
This was the passionate topic at the GirlsMatter Club’s first summer meeting. We heard stories from every girl there, LOUD AND CLEAR, whose ages ranged from 12 to the mentor who is 52 years old. Wow! The aggression stories of girl vs. girl were all so different, but they had one common thread...the pain and scars of that experience have never left us.
What's the good news? Well, we all felt a connection that created a warm emotional bond among us instead of the "left out alone in the cold" feeling that rips your self esteem into shreds. We all agreed that this is a kind of built in discrimination that all women have gone through. And we need to do something about it.
Women’s Rights begin with women standing up for each other creating a sisterhood, a unity. Sometimes women get so used to the way they are treated that they FORGET they can take a stand---especially together.
EDUCATE YOURSELF ACTION PLAN
- QUESTION: Check out commercials, magazine ads, and groups of girls/women. What do they talk about? Think about your own girl vs. girl experiences or those of you friends. What happened? Were you the aggressor or the recipient, or both? Do you know what happened to cause the aggression to start? What was done about the girl aggression? Could some of it have been prevented?
- INFORM: Learn how different sides think by clicking on Women’s Rights: INTRODUCTION then, What’s the concern? And What’s the Problem Now? What’s the problem with discrimination now? What’s the problem with Violence Against Women Now?
- INTERVIEW: Ask questions to friends, teachers, Grandma, aunts, administrators. LISTEN to their answer and take notes. REMEMBER: Ask that NO real names be mentioned (that’s mean!) and accept their opinions without judgment.
- DISCUSS RESULTS: Share your results with the girls in your club. Break into small groups and then discuss as a large group what you found out. Now, form your opinion based on all you have learned.
- TAKE ACTION: Ask your school what they do about bullying among girls? Is there a policy in place to deal with this crucial subject?
Updated on: 9/1/2004
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