Why Girls Need to Learn About CyberDRAMA, Not Just CyberBULLYING

This Guest Post graciously submitted by Rachel Simmons. If it bleeds, it leads: it’s a popular saying in journalism that refers to our attraction to sensational, often violent headlines. As an anti-bullying educator, I have seen something similar: we tend to focus on the most extreme levels of bullying as a way to teach and build [...]

The Astonishing Sexism of Hollywood and What it Means for Girls

This Guest Post graciously submitted by Rachel Simmons. Every once in a while, an article comes out that is stunning in its honesty about a problem that people try to deny exists. On April 11, the New Yorker ran an article about the comic actress Anna Faris which, among other things, revealed the astonishing sexism of the film [...]

Why a Parent’s Empathy is Vital for a Bullied Girl — and Why It Often Goes Out the Window

This Guest Post graciously submitted by Rachel Simmons. When I did the original research for Odd Girl Out, I asked every bullied girl I interviewed to tell me what she needed most from her family. The answer truly surprised me. It wasn’t having the best solutions, calling the school or trying to act like everything was [...]

Is Hooking Up Good for Girls?

This Guest Post graciously submitted by Rachel Simmons. As a relationship advice columnist for Teen Vogue, I get a lot of mail from girls in “no strings attached” relationships. The girls describe themselves as “kind of” with a guy, “sort of” seeing him, or “hanging out” with him. The guy may be noncommittal, or worse, in another no-strings [...]

No Offense, But I Was Just Kidding: Dealing with Mean Jokes

This Guest Post graciously submitted by Rachel Simmons. “When girls say ‘just kidding,’ what percentage of the time are they really joking?” It’s one of my favorite questions to ask girls, and I rarely hear numbers in double digits. That’s because “just kidding,” and its cousin, “no offense,” are phrases girls (and guys, though less [...]

Is It Too Late to Apologize?

This Guest Post graciously submitted by Rachel Simmons. Hi Rachel, I started college last year and met my friend who quickly became a best friend. The problem is that later on in the year a third friend popped up to make a threesome and I didn’t handle the situation as gracefully as I could have. [...]