Not all bullies in high school were 230 pounds and gave a mean purple nurple. Some wore pink and smelled like heaven-on-earth .But whether they were petite and wiley or large and menacing…bullies were the curse of high school. If you’ve ever had your head in the toilet or been publicly humiliated for wearing the wrong color shoes…you know all about the power of the bully.
They were even worse when their friends were around. Somehow humiliation is even more satisfying when you have an audience. Power in numbers, That’s precisely how they gained fearful control over their victims.. You can look back now with high school a safe distance away and say they must have had personality disorders or a dysfunctional family. Sounds good now doesn’t it? But in high school it was hard to have any empathy for the people who made your life a living hell. And if you felt bad for the people they stalked, you were powerless. Bullies don’t take kindly to rightful indignation.
It’s hard to say who were feared the most…the big lugs who could break your neck or the mean girls who could break your spirit. They were a force to be reckoned with. Has this new world of politcal correctness and diversity changed the bully-victim cycle. Hell no .It’s getting worse. And now there’s U-Tube and IM’s to make it more public and even more humiliating.
Tell us your bully stories.
May 15, 2008. Tags: bullies, cliques, high school, mean girls, outsiders. American culture, bullies, high school, popular. .
If you compare high school to being in a Royal Kingdom then cheerleaders have to be the ladies-in-waiting. And they were waiting for it …and they expected it. This small pool of carefully selected women were the queens to be, the future girlfriends of the jocks and the girls who broke your heart or left you with permanent self esteem scars. They were glossy…they were bossy and they knew a thing or two about shaking their pompoms.
It may have been Game Night for the jocks…but it was center stage for the cheerleaders, and they knew it. They had the bouncy curls , the little-girl hair ribbons and the neatly pressed shorter-than-short pleated skirts. Nothing, however, could disguise the display of Lolita-esque hormones in the sanctity of the organized sport arena. Sort of like being a pole dancer without the guilt.. It was catnip for teenage boys.
Being a cheerleader now isn’t the same. Cheerleading is a sport…….it’s all about being a gymnast, a precision dancer, a perfectionist. Back-in-the-day it was about being popular,, being competitive in the social arena and being part of the privileged crowd. Short on skills…long on attitude. That’s why every teen movie shows the mean girls as cheerleaders.
I have to confess that I was a cheerleader all through high school. I took what was handed to me. Great jock boyfriends and the self confidence to take my rightful place on the school newspaper, the yearbook anything I wanted. I’ve had my share of successes and failures….but I never lack the courage to go for anything I want.
There’s a lot to be said for the mindless dancing tributes to high school athletes on a field or court surrounded by screaming fans. And when you’re chanting “we’ve got the fever…we’re hot…we can’t be stopped..”…..It was just way too easy to think it included you.
March 30, 2008. Tags: American icon, Cheerleader, cliques, mean girls, popular, prom queen. American culture, American icon, Cheerleaders, high school, popular. .
Did you sit at the cool kids table in high school surrounded by the popular kids?…or did you sit alone wondering when the prom queen or hunky jock was finally going to recognize you? You have to admit you knew exactly who you were in high school. You knew your place. It’s prom season once again and for many that’s equivalent to sticking a knitting needle in your eye socket and going to bed with a migraine.
We all know that maneuvering within the social confines of a high school society is a little like penetrating a secret cult. Chances are that prom queen never did see beyond the metal mouth and the slight brush of acne. The question I pose is this….do you ever leave high school? Are you doomed for a life of quite desperation and acceptance… or a life of “what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-these-people….I was in the popular clique?”
I’ve been asking this question for years and have gotten the most incredible answers. Some people are true professional successes who never feel good enough and others are still waiting for life to hand them the prizes they feel entitled to. I’m a television journalist who has been posing this question with my writing partner following a summer of watching teen movies as a background for a screenplay. We had to ask the question What the hell happens to all the mean bitchy prom queens in the movies? And why is everyone so obsessed with high school? We made up a questionnaire, passed it around, and were blown away by the answers. High School is pretty much a common experience. But can you leave it behind and get on with your life? I thought I did. I loved high school until my Air Force dad brought us from England to the Bible Belt. So I can see both sides. We want to know your deepest secrets about high school. We want to know those stories of glory and heartache. Anonymous, of course. E -mail us directly at promqueenforever@aol.com or give us an answer here. (Be sure and give your first name only and the year you graduated) I will be taking a look at the common groups that our survey designated. You know, the cheerleaders, the jocks, the bad boys, the bandies….and of course, the prom queens. So brush off those tiaras and football trophies , clarinets and leather jackets. This is your time.
March 19, 2008. Tags: high school, Cheerleaders, nerds, Band, cliques, American icon, mean girls, pupular. American culture, American icons, Cheerleaders, Geeks, Prom Queens, high school, popular. .
