what to do when a girl bullies a boy
Bullying is very much alive and well, just it seems to take evolved, says Jo Davies — and now, information technology seems girls are getting in on the act, ostensibly under the umbrella of "daughter power."
Equally a mom of three boys, I must say I've learned a few things. To wit: superhero undies can be a perfectly acceptable class of headgear; Nerf darts multiply quicker than rabbits at a carrot convention (and gum upward a vacuum cleaner even faster); and the stench of sweaty gym socks left to moulder in a teenager'southward haversack can, in fact, cause PTSD. What haven't I learned? To take it in stride when someone bullies 1 of my sons. Bullying is still live and well, despite the number of times I've seen the phrase "cypher tolerance" tossed around in school newsletters over the years. The lamentable fact is that information technology's only gotten more widespread. Where bullying used to be the purview of boys and lumped under the heading of "boys volition exist boys," girls are now jumping on the bullying bandwagon, ostensibly under the umbrella of "girl power." In theory, "girl power" was (and is) a fantastic idea. In practice, it'southward left much to be desired. For example, when my boys were small, I call up them asking virtually the slogans they'd seen on their female classmates' shirts. "Girls Dominion, Boys Drool" and "Anything Boys Tin Do, Girls Can Practice Better" were fairly popular. My sons were puzzled and injure by these sayings, wondering why it was OK for girls to not bad them (albeit indirectly) in the proper noun of their empowerment. It didn't sit right with me, either. I wondered why lifting girls up automatically meant putting boys down. My sons were unaware of the thing-of-fact misogyny that labelled women delicate flowers incapable of taking care of themselves, living merely to serve the men in their lives. I had gone out of my way to ensure they grew up knowing that girls were their equals, nothing less. I raised them to sympathize the concept of misogyny and to treat all females with respect. Which is why I was shocked to hear well-nigh an incident at my son's high schoolhouse a few weeks agone, when a rumour went the rounds, wrongly attributing to him a grossly inappropriate comment nearly a group of girls. Without verifying the rumour, said group of girls decided to deal with the situation. They cornered my son in the hallway, then proceeded to yell swears and other insults at him until he broke downward in tears. The school principal's primary piece of advice? My son should block the girls from his social media. Opinion Now: imagine what would have happened had a group of boys done the same thing to a lone female classmate. I doubt that the situation would have been treated equally nonchalantly. For some reason, when bullying is done past a female to a male, the situation seems to exist taken less seriously. Likely it's because boys are seen every bit tougher and more able to handle themselves. Possibly it's because girls have usually been victims, and now feel empowered to handle their own business. Whatever it is, boys (including my sons) seem to be held to a standard to which girls aren't required to adhere. Every bit their mother, I phone call BS. Don't get me incorrect: as a female who was bullied throughout her school years and a proud aunt to two tweenage nieces, I take zero issue with girls taking control of a state of affairs that is detrimental to them. Information technology's important for them to know that they can stand up up for themselves. However, I wasn't aware that empowering girls meant giving them free rein to humiliate and boldness boys. As I sympathize it, the women's rights movement was meant to equalize the sexes when information technology came to employment, wages and opportunities, non to give females the right to be equally impolite. As my elder brother (who'due south been a teacher and ambassador for virtually 30 years) points out, when it comes to bullying, schools need to walk a fine line. They want girls to know they don't have to be victims, without giving them licence to treat their male counterparts like punching numberless, on social media or otherwise. Complicating all of this is the fact that we are living next door to the Wicked Windbag of the S, who regularly employs Twitter to bully anyone or anything that isn't nailed downward. Information technology's hard to tell our kids non to cracking each other when they see the leader of the gratis world behaving on the daily in a fashion that would brand Draco Malfoy blush. In the end I told my sons what I've always told them: happy people don't bully others. People who feel lousy about themselves and/or insecure near their place in the globe do. It's as simple and as circuitous as that. So, stand up up to the bullies in life, by all ways. Merely remember: girls aren't amend than boys, and boys aren't better than girls. You just need to be better than yourselves. This column is part of CBC's Stance department . For more than information most this section, delight read this editor'due south blog and our FAQ . 
Equality doesn't mean existence 'every bit boorish'
Stand upwardly to the bullies in life, by all ways. Just remember: girls aren't meliorate than boys, and boys aren't better than girls.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/opinion-girls-bullying-jo-davies-1.5119099
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