Difference in Physical Appearance as a Cause of Bullying

Regina sits in her room, gazing off at her bookshelf thinking about Cady Heron. Her eyes widen as if a brilliant idea came up. She darts toward the burn book - a book with girls’ yearbook pictures with negative comments and furiously flips through the pages. Sitting down with her legs crossed, she cuts out her own picture and writes down negative comments about herself to make it seem like it’s written by Cady.

This is a scene from the 2004 infamous teen movie called Mean Girls, which portrays forms of bullying that happen because of smallest incidents, even one such as liking the same boy. However, bullying, as conceived by others, is not an element merely utilized in romcom movies. It is a real-life phenomenon that can be happening anywhere and everywhere in the world. Considering the prevalence of this issue, the fact that this is mostly left as a neglected problem comes as a genuine concern. Bullying exerts major negative influences: the bullies’ actions greatly impact the victim both physically or psychologically. To have a mere chance of attacking this problem, comprehending the underlying causes seem crucial. Teenagers bully their peers because of physical differences, for attention and lack of confidence.

Any physical characteristics that draw attention will increase the possibility of being bullied. Some aspects include: wearing glasses, being overweight or merely being too short. A professor at the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine, Young Shin Kim, states that, “one day, they just do not like a kid because kid will wear pink, and the next day they might not like other kids because they're wearing blue, or they’re tall, or they’re small, or they wear glasses…” In cases, bullies may have an excessive or lacking amount of confidence in themselves, especially regarding their own appearances, and this can lead to bullying to feel a sense of superiority. Attention-Seekers Bullies can also be lonely - not having “real” friends or having grown up in dysfunctional families, or else. As a result of the defense mechanism, they may act strongly in front of others but may wish for a true friend who they can rely on, which leads to dependence and obsession in friend relationships. According to Professor Brec Cooke, an education professor at American University, many "react to bullying by becoming bullies and finding ways to pick on other people. ” As Cooke says, those who got bullied before, ironically, have a higher chance of bullying someone else due to their fear getting bullied again.

Shareka Bannerman, a sophomore at Suitland High School, spoke about her experience of witnessing this phenomenon. “Personally, I think the only reason why they do bully is that they do not get enough attention in the home and they try to get attention from other people. ” Not all bullies come from a dysfunctional family - families with minimal affection and openness, however, most of them compared to students from affectionate families do. Jealousy Students who excel in a class or seem to ruin the test curve every time - so-called "being a teacher’s pet” - are factors that usually contribute to easily become a target for bullies. Students who are gifted with a skill or attribute - being smart, creative, or coming from a wealthy background are often the attributes others may find unwelcome. Aryanne, who has a degree in psychology from Durham University and an MSc in occupational psychology from Sheffield University, explains that “most bullies are motivated by fear, jealousy, and envy. ” Aryanne says that “they have the fear that they might fail; that someone is better than them, and that they will take kudos away from them. They may be jealous of someone’s skills, success, or social qualities. So, they target what they perceive as ‘the opposition’. ” Due to jealousy, bullies may try to make “a more equal playing field” in school with the victims by accusing and “undermining their skills. " They are reluctant in accepting the fact that some students have advantages over them in some areas since they lack confidence in themselves and their attributes. An interesting case is when they are aware of their own intelligence, yet due to their fear becoming called as ‘teacher pets or nerds, ’ accuse someone else of it in order to escape the “blame. "

In many cases, the parents and teachers become actively involved to solve the problem by informing the administrators. However, the problem tends to remain unresolved or even worse. In order to truly reduce bullying, all students - both bullies and victims - should be rightly guided through education to prevent bullying. More importantly, schools should put significant effort into creating an environment that enables students to comfortably report incidents without the fear of being humiliated or becoming the next target.