Girl on girl violence is up
According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, the number of girls 10
to 17 arrested for aggravated assault has doubled over the last 20 years.
The number of boys arrested for weapons possession rose 22 percent
between 1983 and 2003, while the number of girls increased by a whopping
125 percent.
Wow, that's a lot! I'm assuming they aren't including jello and mud wresting, so this is serious business.
James Garbarino, professor of human development at Cornell, puts it more
bluntly. "We rely on boys to get out there and block a football, go in the
Army and defend the country, carry guns and be cops. One of the side
effects is that some boys take [physical aggression] too far." Now that
girls have the same opportunities, he says, they can encounter the same
blurry boundaries.
That's very true, those boundaries can be blurry. They want you to be aggressive in sports on the field or court, but then it's back to being passive. And men have the same issues, but it's always been a little more socially acceptable for men to be aggressive.
But then the 'cat fight' has been glorified in recent years. What guy doesn't ponder the occasional girl on girl scuffle? I think young men encourage that kind of thing, and young women like the attention they get from it. But most of that is all in good fun, and people don't really get hurt. It's when the boundaries get blurred that real damage can be done.
Research suggests that the best predictor of violent behavior,
however for girls and for boys is not hours logged playing videogames
or competitive pressure, but firsthand exposure to violent behavior.
And social scientists warn that the number of children who see guns,
fights and other kinds of physical abuse on a day-to-day basis is on
the rise.
If that's the case, then the dommino effect takes over. There's more violence, more people see it, causing more violence, which more people see, which causes more violence, etc.
I hope that as we evolve, my sisters find better ways to deal with their aggressions, than resorting to violence.
to 17 arrested for aggravated assault has doubled over the last 20 years.
The number of boys arrested for weapons possession rose 22 percent
between 1983 and 2003, while the number of girls increased by a whopping
125 percent.
Wow, that's a lot! I'm assuming they aren't including jello and mud wresting, so this is serious business.
James Garbarino, professor of human development at Cornell, puts it more
bluntly. "We rely on boys to get out there and block a football, go in the
Army and defend the country, carry guns and be cops. One of the side
effects is that some boys take [physical aggression] too far." Now that
girls have the same opportunities, he says, they can encounter the same
blurry boundaries.
That's very true, those boundaries can be blurry. They want you to be aggressive in sports on the field or court, but then it's back to being passive. And men have the same issues, but it's always been a little more socially acceptable for men to be aggressive.
But then the 'cat fight' has been glorified in recent years. What guy doesn't ponder the occasional girl on girl scuffle? I think young men encourage that kind of thing, and young women like the attention they get from it. But most of that is all in good fun, and people don't really get hurt. It's when the boundaries get blurred that real damage can be done.
Research suggests that the best predictor of violent behavior,
however for girls and for boys is not hours logged playing videogames
or competitive pressure, but firsthand exposure to violent behavior.
And social scientists warn that the number of children who see guns,
fights and other kinds of physical abuse on a day-to-day basis is on
the rise.
If that's the case, then the dommino effect takes over. There's more violence, more people see it, causing more violence, which more people see, which causes more violence, etc.
I hope that as we evolve, my sisters find better ways to deal with their aggressions, than resorting to violence.
posted by cookie christine @ 6/05/2005
3 Comments:
At June 05, 2005,
Anonymous said…
Girl on girl violence is hot. Though, frankly, I prefer girl on boy violence.
In jello. Or mud. I'm not picky.
At June 05, 2005,
cookie christine said…
But Ricky, if you really had to chose, and it was all up to you, would you pick jello or mud? Enquiring minds want to know.
At June 06, 2005,
Anonymous said…
Actually, I'm partial to the panty clad pillow fight.
But that might just be because I've been watching Penn State slug it out with Indiana for the past three years...
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