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Bullying
Bullying is…
Bullying is when one person or a group of people scare or hurt someone else over and over again. Bullies hurt others who are often weaker or less confident. Bullying is often done on purpose and it can happen anywhere, such as at school, in the park, on a sports team, or even at home. Often the person being bullied has a hard time defending herself.
There are many types of bullying. Bullying can be:
- Leaving someone out of group activities on purpose.
- Giving someone the “silent treatment.”
- Using the Internet, IMs, text messages, and/or email to hurt others (also called cyberbullying).
- Making faces and/or bad gestures with your hands at someone.
- Using a person to get something you want, such as making friends with someone who is smart just so they can do your homework for you.
- Making fun of someone for being “different.”
- Forcing someone to do something embarrassing or dangerous in order to join a sports team or social group (also called hazing).
- Name-calling, teasing, gossiping, and/or spreading rumors.
- Hair pulling, biting, and pinching.
- Threatening and scaring others.
- Hitting, punching, and shoving.
Bullying doesn’t just happen between girls. Did you know that sometimes adults bully kids? This doesn’t happen often, but it does happen sometimes. Bullying can happen when one person has power over another person. Teachers and coaches have power over students. Anytime a person hurts another person on purpose (either with words or actions), over and over again, this is bullying.
Also, girls sometimes bully boys. Girls may call a boy “gay” or hit a boy because they know he can’t hit them back.
In all of these examples, bullying is wrong. Keep reading to learn more about bullying and how to stop it!
What Girls Do
A shake of the head, a roll of the eyes
The rumors the lies
They no longer play on your pride
But rip you up inside
This is what girls do
This is what they say
It is like this every day
The mothers reply
But that is a lie
Walking in the hall
Taking in it all
All alone no one home
Kids shouting, kids staring
All this torture I'm bearing
No one caring
- Anonymous, Age 12
FROM: Odd Girl Speaks Out by Rachel Simmons
Content last updated September 22, 2009
