is volleyball really a "mean girl" sport??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is great at it. I feel silly even typing this out, but my older daughter was saying that "everyone knows" that the girls who play volleyball are "mean girls." I mostly rolled my eyes but a friend in another area said it's the same in their area. Is that really true?

It kind of is, not to say that all the girls on a team are mean girls, but just that mean girls gravitate toward it, much like cheer. Look at the outfits for volleyball and cheer compared to other girls' sports (except swim) and you will see why it attracts a certain type. Other girls' sports do not have such sexualized outfits. Most of what makes a "mean girl" mean is a desire to fight over the attention of boys.

Are you serious with saying volleyball uniforms are sexualized because of the shorts? Give me a break. So what about cross country and track and field? Are those uniforms sexualized, too? Not everything is, you know. Sometimes a uniform is just a uniform and shorts are short because they are easier to move in.

FWIW the girls I know playing volleyball are not mean girls. Please understand that there are at least some mean girls in every sport.

[Anonymous]

Not the case at our school, as far as I know. DD has several friends on the team and they are all very nice

The only sport I’ve heard this about at our high school is Pomline (I don’t even understand what the sport is tbh- kind of like cheerleading but not). Apparently those girls have a reputation for being a bit mean.

[Anonymous]

Which team are the a-hole boys in? And are wrestling uniforms sexualized? Sounds like some of you on this thread are the mean girls.

[Anonymous]

There is a difference between an actual “mean girl” and a confident, fit athlete that hangs around her teammates and is somewhat insular. She might have more swagger and may be physically similar to “popular” girls but that in itself doesn’t make her a mean girl. I think the average girl with normal awkwardness and typical body insecurities can easily conflate the two. This I say as a former nerd with ah athlete daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which team are the a-hole boys in? And are wrestling uniforms sexualized? Sounds like some of you on this thread are the mean girls.

Yup. A bunch of mean moms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people think this is?? We always talk about how empowering sports are, especially for girls, and also about their value for teaching good qualities like teamwork and perseverance.

And yet I've seen this too -- usually what happens is that the more elite a team is, the more likely you are to see mean girl behavior. It's classic in-group/out-group dynamics. And I also think coaches can sometimes be very immature and encourage this behavior -- there are so many adults working with teens who just fall into dysfunctional teen dynamics of gossip and exclusion instead of being adults and guiding students away from those behaviors.

It's really disappointing.

+1

My kids are athletes(not vb), btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The meanest girl in my dd's middle school friend group made the volleyball team this year. I don't think she's actually mean deep down but sometimes it seems like she's play acting from the "mean girls" movie. So far the other friends shut it down most of the time she's trying to stir up drama, at least from what I overhear during carpools.

I could have written this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which team are the a-hole boys in? And are wrestling uniforms sexualized? Sounds like some of you on this thread are the mean girls.

Lacrosse but it depends on the school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is great at it. I feel silly even typing this out, but my older daughter was saying that "everyone knows" that the girls who play volleyball are "mean girls." I mostly rolled my eyes but a friend in another area said it's the same in their area. Is that really true?

It kind of is, not to say that all the girls on a team are mean girls, but just that mean girls gravitate toward it, much like cheer. Look at the outfits for volleyball and cheer compared to other girls' sports (except swim) and you will see why it attracts a certain type. Other girls' sports do not have such sexualized outfits. Most of what makes a "mean girl" mean is a desire to fight over the attention of boys.

Are you serious with saying volleyball uniforms are sexualized because of the shorts? Give me a break. So what about cross country and track and field? Are those uniforms sexualized, too? Not everything is, you know. Sometimes a uniform is just a uniform and shorts are short because they are easier to move in.

FWIW the girls I know playing volleyball are not mean girls. Please understand that there are at least some mean girls in every sport.

Basketball and soccer have more movement than volleyball and their uniforms are not the slightest bit sexual. Vb uniforms are way too tight and revealing for minors. If you wore a vb uniform to play bb, you would be sent to the locker room to change. Vb as a sport has a distinct culture around it and it is reflected in the uniform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which team are the a-hole boys in? And are wrestling uniforms sexualized? Sounds like some of you on this thread are the mean girls.

Lacrosse but it depends on the school

+1 million, doesn’t depend on school, is universal

[Anonymous]

Field hockey and lacrosse were the mean girl sports at my HS! Volleyball players were confident - and sometimes sort of intimidating, especially when they were all together, bc they were so tall. But they were nice!

[Anonymous]

A
T my big three it was lacrosse and field hockey. They all loved wearing their short purple skirts to school on game day. Like cheerleaders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is great at it. I feel silly even typing this out, but my older daughter was saying that "everyone knows" that the girls who play volleyball are "mean girls." I mostly rolled my eyes but a friend in another area said it's the same in their area. Is that really true?

It kind of is, not to say that all the girls on a team are mean girls, but just that mean girls gravitate toward it, much like cheer. Look at the outfits for volleyball and cheer compared to other girls' sports (except swim) and you will see why it attracts a certain type. Other girls' sports do not have such sexualized outfits. Most of what makes a "mean girl" mean is a desire to fight over the attention of boys.

Are you serious with saying volleyball uniforms are sexualized because of the shorts? Give me a break. So what about cross country and track and field? Are those uniforms sexualized, too? Not everything is, you know. Sometimes a uniform is just a uniform and shorts are short because they are easier to move in.

FWIW the girls I know playing volleyball are not mean girls. Please understand that there are at least some mean girls in every sport.

Basketball and soccer have more movement than volleyball and their uniforms are not the slightest bit sexual. Vb uniforms are way too tight and revealing for minors. If you wore a vb uniform to play bb, you would be sent to the locker room to change. Vb as a sport has a distinct culture around it and it is reflected in the uniform.

Tell me more about the distinct culture that is reflected in the uniforms. WTAF..stop sexualizing everything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's just their competitive nature being misunderstood.

Exactly. Athletic girls tend to have more confidence and take less crap than others.

I love how being mean is now being "super confident". What a euphemism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a sexist thread.

Calling bullies out isn’t sexist.

OP here. I am female, and for the record, I was a D1 athlete.

But no one enters middle and high school sports at a very high level. That comes later -- or doesn't. And along the way, there are social elements that are factors in the development of the kids I am raising.

So I am curious who is attracted to the sport. We'll move before my kids start high school most likely and frankly, I don't need to nurture a sport that is known to be mean girl sport all else equal.