There's nothing new about bullying in school, but there is something
new about what's causing it. Some believe that designer clothing is
connected with the rise of bullying among girls. Find students who have experienced some form of bullying. Do schools with a
dress code, or uniforms, have more or less of a problem?The Wall Street Journal has a story about the fact that bullying, especially by and toward young girls, is on the rise. Clothing has a lot to do with it:
Guidance counselors and psychologists say, fashion
bullying is reaching a new level of intensity as more designers launch
collections targeted at kids.
As a result, an increasing number of school and
community programs focused on girl-on-girl bullying are addressing peer
pressure and the sizable role clothing plays in girls' identity. In
Pennsylvania, California, Maryland and several other states, for
instance, community groups and some schools have started Club or Camp
Ophelia, a pair of programs developed by Penn State professor and
author Cheryl Dellasega that teach girls relationship skills. A "Bully
Quiz" the girls take asks, "Have you stopped being friends with someone
because she wore clothes you didn't like?"
Dorothy Espelage, a professor of educational
psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who has
studied teenage behavior for 14 years, says she has seen an increase in
"bullying related to clothes." She attributes that to the proliferation
of designer brands and the display of labels in ads. In the more than
20 states where she has studied teens, she has been surprised by how
kids revere those they perceive to have the best clothes. Having access
to designer clothing affords some kids "the opportunity to become
popular -- and that protects you and gives you social power and
leverage over others," she says.
