Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls [Anglais] [Broché]

There is little sugar but lots of spice in journalist Rachel Simmons's brave and brilliant book that skewers the stereotype of girls as the kinder, gentler gender. Odd Girl Out begins with the premise that girls are socialized to be sweet with a double bind: they must value friendships; but they must not express the anger that might destroy them. Lacking cultural permission to acknowledge conflict, girls develop what Simmons calls "a hidden culture of silent and indirect aggression."

The author, who visited 30 schools and talked to 300 girls, catalogues chilling and heartbreaking acts of aggression, including the silent treatment, note-passing, glaring, gossiping, ganging up, fashion police, and being nice in private/mean in public. She decodes the vocabulary of these sneak attacks, explaining, for example, three ways to parse the meaning of "I'm fat."

Simmons is a gifted writer who is skilled at describing destructive patterns and prescribing clear-cut strategies for parents, teachers, and girls to resist them. "The heart of resistance is truth telling," advises Simmons. She guides readers to nurture emotional honesty in girls and to discover a language for public discussions of bullying. She offers innovative ideas for changing the dynamics of the classroom, sample dialogues for talking to daughters, and exercises for girls and their friends to explore and resolve messy feelings and conflicts head-on.

One intriguing chapter contrasts truth telling in white middle class, African-American, Latino, and working-class communities. Odd Girl Out is that rare book with the power to touch individual lives and transform the culture that constrains girls--and boys--from speaking the truth. --Barbara Mackoff --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

Although more than 16 years have passed, Rhodes Scholar Simmons hasn't forgotten how she felt when Abby told the other girls in third grade not to play with her, nor has she stopped thinking about her own role in giving Noa the silent treatment. Simmons examines how such "alternative aggression" where girls use their relationship with the victim as a weapon flourishes and its harmful effects. Through interviews with more than 300 girls in 10 schools (in two urban areas and a small town), as well as 50 women who experienced alternative aggression when they were young, Simmons offers a detailed portrait of girls' bullying. Citing the work of Carol Gilligan and Lyn Mikel Brown, she shows the toll that alternative aggression can take on girls' self-esteem. For Simmons, the restraints that society imposes to prevent girls from venting feelings of competition, jealousy and anger is largely to blame for this type of bullying. It forces girls to turn their lives into "a perverse game of Twister," where their only outlets for expressing negative feelings are covert looks, turned backs and whispers. Since the events at Columbine, some schools have taken steps to curb relational aggression. For those that haven't, Simmons makes an impassioned plea that no form of bullying be permitted.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to bullying among adolescents, with an emphasis on the aggressive behavior of boys. This book looks at types of bullying behavior that the author found to be more common among girls--subtle and more difficult to spot or control than physical aggression. Ruth Ann Phimister is an earnest and sincere narrator. She draws out the major theme of each chapter and the tone of each of the interviews and clearly communicates Simmons's reactions and conclusions. This book is an important addition to the research on bullying, and this audio presentation makes it easy to follow. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

Forget the stereotypes of sugar and spice. Girls are mean,and as this books and a recent New York Times Magazine cover storyindicate, their subtle, insidious style of bullying is rapidlygarnering attention and concern. Simmons, a twentysomething with apolitical background, calls on her extensive face-to-face researchwith teens in this book that exposes the social minefields of femaleadolescence and the deep scarring that can result. Bolstered withnumerous revealing anecdotes and quotes, Odd Girl Out does anexcellent job of articulating to adults exactly the pain and subtlewarfare that many teen girls experience, and Simmons offers thoughtfulmotivations for both bullies and the parents who are reluctant to reinthem in. She also offers admirable, groundbreaking insight into anall-too-common issue and will be invaluable to any adult struggling tohelp a girl get through her teens. Also suggest Sharon Lamb'srevealing title The Secret Lives of Girls. Gillian Engberg
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"This is the book we have been waiting for. It's a wakeup call to all of us who care deeply about girls' development. Simmons has given voice to the girls who struggle every day with friendships. She has uncovered a hidden world of aggression that unfolds behind adults' backs."
--Susan Wellman, president of the Ophelia Project

Dirty looks and taunting notes are just a few examples of girl bullying that girls and women have long suffered through silently and painfully. With this book Rachel Simmons elevated the nation's consciousness and has shown millions of girls, parents, counselors, and teachers how to deal with this devastating problem. Poised to reach a wider audience in paperback, including the teenagers who are its subject, Odd Girl Out puts the spotlight on this issue, using real-life examples from both the perspective of the victim and of the bully.

Rachel Simmons graduated from Vassar College in 1996, where she studied Women's Studies and Political Science. In 1998, she received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University where she began her research of female bullying and the psychology of girls. She has worked in politics in Washington and New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn.