Reflection on Odd Girl Out

    In Odd Girl Out, Rachel Simmons talks about the science of girls ganging up on each other. Though I am a boy, this applies to some extent. Whenever I was in an alliance it made me feel really bad after the fact. When I was in an alliance it was very small and was composed of people that didn’t like the target or people that the target was mean to. In that situation, my options were to just walk away or to settle the conflict civilly. In that case I did neither, we had a small confrontation but then were able to talk it out peacefully.
    My sister had a different story. She was ganged up on when she was in elementary school by a group of her “friends”. She was playing on the playground with her friend when they were approached by some of the girls my sister considers her friends. They came and gave hugs to the girl my sister was playing with and left my sister standing there by herself. After that, they left with my sisters original friend and my sister feeling very sad.
    I think people bully other people because they want to attract attention to themself and away from the victim. Bullies think that because they make themselves seem strong and powerful then people will respect them. This only works at attracting the types of people who like to follow some sort of leader. That is how most alliances are formed. Another reason people bully is because they are jealous of the person that they bully. People that bully want to be in control of the situation and they feel if they are feared then they are in control.