Are girls meaner this era than previous years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that girls are under a lot more pressure due to sexualization at a much younger age than in previous generations. I imagine this has a lot to do with what you're observing.

Why do we do this to our girls - or why do we let the liberal media do this to our girls?

I don't do it to mine. I don't talk about her looks or body much (except in terms of how powerful/strong it is), I never talk about my weight or my body in terms of fat/skinny, and I don't have her wear a swimsuit top at the beach. I don't buy beauty magazines and don't comment on people's looks.

[Anonymous]

I teach high school and I actually think that my girl students are nicer (in general) these days. More helpless, certainly, and addicted to their phones, but nicer to each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. Its just that there's no escape anymore because they're all connected with social media and texting. They're not meaner they just have more opportunities to be mean

I agree. Social media and texting is out of control for some girls. Parents really need to keep up on what is going on especially in middle school.

Not in K-3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that girls are under a lot more pressure due to sexualization at a much younger age than in previous generations. I imagine this has a lot to do with what you're observing.

Why do we do this to our girls - or why do we let the liberal media do this to our girls?

I don't do it to mine. I don't talk about her looks or body much (except in terms of how powerful/strong it is), I never talk about my weight or my body in terms of fat/skinny, and I don't have her wear a swimsuit top at the beach. I don't buy beauty magazines and don't comment on people's looks.

You dont have her wear a swimsuit top? How old? I can't believe she's ok with that.

We have some basic social norms. You are free to ignore them, but following this one is hardly harmful. Are you bucking the norm just for grins, or do you actually believe a swimsuit top sexualizes your kid? My son prefers to swim in a shirt. Is that sexualizing?

[Anonymous]

They were mean back in the day as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach high school and I actually think that my girl students are nicer (in general) these days. More helpless, certainly, and addicted to their phones, but nicer to each other.

Fellow high school teacher. I agree. Inclusion has made a huge difference. These kids are not mean to the different and vulnerable the way they used to be, they actually go out of their way to be kind to those students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach high school and I actually think that my girl students are nicer (in general) these days. More helpless, certainly, and addicted to their phones, but nicer to each other.

Fellow high school teacher. I agree. Inclusion has made a huge difference. These kids are not mean to the different and vulnerable the way they used to be, they actually go out of their way to be kind to those students.

This is really nice to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that girls are under a lot more pressure due to sexualization at a much younger age than in previous generations. I imagine this has a lot to do with what you're observing.

Why do we do this to our girls - or why do we let the liberal media do this to our girls?

I don't do it to mine. I don't talk about her looks or body much (except in terms of how powerful/strong it is), I never talk about my weight or my body in terms of fat/skinny, and I don't have her wear a swimsuit top at the beach. I don't buy beauty magazines and don't comment on people's looks.

You dont have her wear a swimsuit top? How old? I can't believe she's ok with that.

We have some basic social norms. You are free to ignore them, but following this one is hardly harmful. Are you bucking the norm just for grins, or do you actually believe a swimsuit top sexualizes your kid? My son prefers to swim in a shirt. Is that sexualizing?

NP. I don't understand why not wearing a swimsuit top is harmful. Little girls' chests look exactly the same as a boys', who don't wear a top. I grew up in Eastern Europe, where prepubescent girls only wore bottoms for swimming, and I honestly do not see why that's wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach high school and I actually think that my girl students are nicer (in general) these days. More helpless, certainly, and addicted to their phones, but nicer to each other.

Fellow high school teacher. I agree. Inclusion has made a huge difference. These kids are not mean to the different and vulnerable the way they used to be, they actually go out of their way to be kind to those students.

This is really nice to hear.

My seniors last year voted a student with some very significant physical disabilities Prom King. It was so great.

[Anonymous]

High school teacher PP here. I do want to add I think social media has helped with awareness with kids. I only graduated in 2003 so not terribly long ago but even then it was common to insult each other by using fag, retard, etc. Kids now do NOT use those words because social acceptance has come so far. They don't think their peers with disabilities are idiots or contemptible nor do they think that of their LGBT peers. That is one thing that is so much better nowadays- they are much, much more understanding of and loving toward differences and identities.

[Anonymous]

Bully behavior has definitely increased in younger girls. Friends with pre-schoolers and K-1 are complaining a lot about Queen Bees and Mean Girls their kids are encountering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High school teacher PP here. I do want to add I think social media has helped with awareness with kids. I only graduated in 2003 so not terribly long ago but even then it was common to insult each other by using fag, retard, etc. Kids now do NOT use those words because social acceptance has come so far. They don't think their peers with disabilities are idiots or contemptible nor do they think that of their LGBT peers. That is one thing that is so much better nowadays- they are much, much more understanding of and loving toward differences and identities.

I still hear these words or their equivalents in the halls of my middle school along with slurs against immigrants, religious minorities, and poor students. This is an affluent public school in MoCo. The big thing last year was boys calling each other "suspect" as a synonym for gay tendencies. Already this year, one boy called another a "SPED". It's only the first week!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school teacher PP here. I do want to add I think social media has helped with awareness with kids. I only graduated in 2003 so not terribly long ago but even then it was common to insult each other by using fag, retard, etc. Kids now do NOT use those words because social acceptance has come so far. They don't think their peers with disabilities are idiots or contemptible nor do they think that of their LGBT peers. That is one thing that is so much better nowadays- they are much, much more understanding of and loving toward differences and identities.

I still hear these words or their equivalents in the halls of my middle school along with slurs against immigrants, religious minorities, and poor students. This is an affluent public school in MoCo. The big thing last year was boys calling each other "suspect" as a synonym for gay tendencies. Already this year, one boy called another a "SPED". It's only the first week!

Well now middle schoolers are just barbarians, we all know that. Give them a few years, they'll mature into humans. Most of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that girls are under a lot more pressure due to sexualization at a much younger age than in previous generations. I imagine this has a lot to do with what you're observing.

Why do we do this to our girls - or why do we let the liberal media do this to our girls?

I don't do it to mine. I don't talk about her looks or body much (except in terms of how powerful/strong it is), I never talk about my weight or my body in terms of fat/skinny, and I don't have her wear a swimsuit top at the beach. I don't buy beauty magazines and don't comment on people's looks.

You dont have her wear a swimsuit top? How old? I can't believe she's ok with that.

We have some basic social norms. You are free to ignore them, but following this one is hardly harmful. Are you bucking the norm just for grins, or do you actually believe a swimsuit top sexualizes your kid? My son prefers to swim in a shirt. Is that sexualizing?

NP. I don't understand why not wearing a swimsuit top is harmful. Little girls' chests look exactly the same as a boys', who don't wear a top. I grew up in Eastern Europe, where prepubescent girls only wore bottoms for swimming, and I honestly do not see why that's wrong.

I didn't say it's harmful. My point is wearing a top is normal and not harmful, so I don't get why pp is making a stand in regards to sexualizing girls.

Also, it's not necessarily"wrong," it goes against our typical social norms (we are not in Eastern Europe). I'm curious how old op's kid is. She'd probably feel really self conscious to be the only girl without a swim top by kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Nellie on Little House on the Prairie. Cinderella's step sisters. Mean girls live on from generation to generation.