Girls
The Psychology of Mean Girls: Group Dynamics and Psychology

Everyone remembers the anxiety of high school. Group dynamics play a huge role in defining our selves and our behavior in those crucial developmental years. As we continue to gain autonomy and independence from our parents, peer groups become that much more influential, thus making social structures and relationships a crucial part to adolescence. The film Mean Girls takes this concept to an extreme, comically illustrating the complexity of group dynamics in American high schools, and how these intensely braided social structures affect self-worth and behavior in vulnerable adolescents.

Most of the psychology in the film is geared towards group dynamics and how those social structures impact the development of the teen characters. Essentially, "the protagonist is 16-year-old Cady, a newcomer to American high school after years of being taught by her parents in Africa -- i.e., a clean slate" (Edelstein 2004).…...

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References

Edelstein, David. (2004). Female trouble: Mean girls dissects the high-school cafeteria. Slate. Web.  http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2004/04/female_trouble.html

Girl and Great Falls
All cultures, seemingly without exception, foster gender role differentiation. Codes of male vs. female behavior guide the way parents raise their children, the ways children relate to each other, and the way individuals view themselves. In many cases, sex-differentiated adult gender roles, social norms, and expectations are constructed painfully. The painful, chaotic, and even violent process by which gender role differentiation occurs is captured by both Jamaica Kincaid and Richard Ford in their respective short stories, "Girl," and "Great Falls." These short stories show how gender as a sociological phenomenon can disrupt inner peace and fracture the soul. In her terse tale "Girl," Jamaica Kincaid recounts her internalized authoritarian voices: a list of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots" that have, for better or worse, constructed the narrator's sense of identity. In addition to the poignant impact of the narrator's internal dialogue, "Girl" shows how one woman…...

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Works Cited

Ford, Richard. "Great Falls." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000. (pp. 338-349)

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 8th Edition, 2002. (pp. 476-77).

Thus, even Valerie singles out the protagonist as special from her insane peers. Susanna's conflicts are seen as more, rather than less compelling than the other women's struggles because Susanna is 'really' sane, and able to take the advice of good people like Valerie. In contrast, the problems of people such as Daisy, who has a flip hairdo and an enmeshed relationship with her sexually abusive father, are used more as shock value (like Daisy's fondness for chicken) rather than as evidence that the less mentally stable girls are worthy and compelling subjects.

Susanna's worthiness of subjectivity is further underlined by her constantly reiterated desire to writer, and her parent's inability to appreciate her ambitions and creativity. Of course, many young people have artistic aims and defy their parent's expectations that they go to college and fulfill conventional aspirations of success. This does not make them crazy; the film rightly says…...

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Works Cited

Girl Interrupted." Starring Winona Ryder. 1999.

Girl, Interrupted, the author Susanna Kaysen talks about her year and a half in a "mental hospital."; The language is by turns funny, quirky, or brutally strong, but always shows remarkable insight into at least some facets of herself. J
The topic she either dodges or diminishes throughout the book is why she was there. She was a "voluntary admission," although she was obviously under great pressure from both family and the psychiatrist who admitted her. She acknowledges that she made a suicide attempt, although she saved herself by getting herself to a public area where she collapsed.

In the beginning of the book we are told that the psychiatrist seemed to focus on a pimple she had picked at that day. The suggestion at this time is that the psychiatrist wildly over-interpreted this to get to a common symptom of her diagnosis, "borderline personality" -- self-mutilation. Then at the very end…...

Girls and Gangs
When people think of gangs and gangsters, they often think of young males. While females may be part of gang culture, they are often viewed as being in the periphery. In many ways, this view of female gang membership is correct. For example, females that are affiliated with gangs have oftentimes been reduced to sexual objections, being used for the gratification of gang members, as a way to lure new recruits (Firmin 2009, p. 15). Furthermore, female sexuality has traditionally been seen as a way to ensnare rival gang members, so that female gang members and females associated with gangs have often acted as spies infiltrating rival gang networks (Aabbad 2012, p.272). However, the traditional view of girls as sexual accessories and playthings for gang members does not reflect the reality of the modern-day gang situation. While women still face significant marginalization and sexual violence within the context…...

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Contemporary Wales, vol. 22, no.1, pp.178-195.

Young, T. 2009. 'Girls and gangs: Shemale gangsters in the UK?', Youth Justice, vol. 9, no.3,

pp. 224-238.

This skilled use of ironic prose is also observable in "A Jury of her Peers" by Susan Glaspell, as when the woman who has just committed murder tells the investigators: "after a minute...'I sleep sound.'" the tale depicts how a group of women gradually deduce, through small and simple clues, how Mrs. right killed her husband, and why. The women's observations are more astute than the male investigator's analysis, according to police protocols. The point of the story is not murder, but the fact that the murder's quiet wifely desperation has gone ignored for so long, and that only fellow female sufferers can see this sorrow after the fact. Likewise, the point of O'Connor's story, more than the lurid aspects, are the ways that families and human beings fail to connect and communicate with one another, before it is too late.
A naysayer might sniff and ask why use murder…...

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Works Cited

Glaspell, Susan. "A Jury of her Peers." 6 May 2007.  http://www.learner.org/exhibits/literature/story/fulltext.html 

Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." 6 May 2007.  http://www.ariyam.com/docs/lit/wf_rose.html 

O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man is Hard to Find." 6 May 2007. http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/goodman.html

In order to shed some preliminary light on the problem being investigated two female freshman students having come from an all girls' school high school environment were selected for observation and interviewing. On the basis of the data retrieved from this preliminary step the research investigator will form a focus group of 10 similar situational freshman students for an in-depth qualitative assessment and analysis. The interview questions and observation format used for the preliminary sample will be applied to the focus group as well. As such compliance to the principle of standardization of data being retrieved will be maintained as well as its integrity.
Guiding Interview Questions. The uniqueness of qualitative research endeavors lies in the accepted principle that interviews can be expanded upon so long as the bottom line intent remains the same, namely uniform data in support of the research question. In order to garner the necessary information…...

Girl ith the Blackened Eye
Blaming the victim, blaming the self:

"the Girl ith the Blackened Eye" by Joyce Carol Oates

hy do women stay with men who abuse them? This question has been asked time and time again, of celebrities as well as ordinary people. In her story "The Girl ith the Blackened Eye," author Joyce Carol Oates sees low female self-esteem as one of the reasons women are abused and often do not actively resist their abuse. Society implicitly assumes that a woman with an abusive man 'deserves what she gets' and this perception creates an almost physical paralysis on the part of the girl of the title. A woman's spirit as well as her body is beaten down by cultural assumptions of how women should behave. The girl is a victim even before she becomes a victim.

In the story "The Girl ith the Blackened Eye," the young, female protagonist is…...

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Work Cited

Oates, Joyce Carol. "The Girl With the Blackened Eye." 2001. [8 Mar 2012]

 http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/ohenry/0901/jco.html

Girl From Samos
Act III:

Just to give a background. This passage starts off with Demeas finding out some devastating information. He discovers that his mistress Chrysis' was holding a baby. Believing it to be Chrysis', and kept against his requests, he decides to kick her out. At that time, Moschion moves in and tries to convince him to keep the baby and then starts to push the question of marriage to his mistress. "Nay, wine is mixing and your wedding's going on Incense rises; and Hephaestus laps the victim with his flame" (Meander, 2010, p. 61)

However, before all of this would occur, there would be a great tragic incidence that would change the course of the play "In the midst of a fair voyage, a storm can suddenly appear from nowhere. . ." (Meander, 2010, p. 53 para 4) This quote is basically explaining that there was about to be a…...

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References

Meander. (2010). Plays and Fragments. Penguin Classics; Reissue edition.

images boys girls offered today's advertising media.
The images of boys and girls as offered by today's advertising media

Even with the fact that boys and girls are born genetically and hormonally different, the information they learn is decisive in influencing them to take on gender roles. Gender is also something that people learn as they grow up, as it does not only involve a person's physical nature. As children develop they are bombarded with information regarding how it would be socially acceptable for them to behave. Devices like the media are influential in this situation as they pressure children in getting a limited definition concerning their role.

The Media Environment

Media devices promoting a simple expression such as "big boys don't cry" can influence some parents in developing less tolerant attitudes toward boys who cry. Some parents might be influenced to believe that it is unnatural for a boy to cry and…...

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Works cited:

Cardwell, M., and Flanagan, C., "Psychology A2: The Complete Companion," (Nelson Thornes, Sep 1, 2003)

Gurian, M., "Boys and Girls Learn Differently! A Guide for Teachers and Parents: Revised 10th Anniversary Edition," (John Wiley & Sons, Aug 26, 2010)

Klein, S., "Handbook for Achieving Gender Equity Through Education," (Routledge, May 22, 2007)

Wood, J.T., "Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender," Retrieved February 18, 2013, from the University of Delaware Website:  http://www.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf

Factory Girls
As Chang (2012) points out, "factory work is an informed choice, not a desperate response to poverty. Other studies by Chinese and Western scholars show that migration fuels economic growth, social mobility and the spread of progressive ideas." In her 2009 book Factory Girls, Leslie Chang visits the land of her ancestors to explore the real stories of Chinese factory workers. Chang's ancestors migrated thousands of miles within China, through Taiwan, and eventually ending up in the United States. As the author reflects on the primary subject of contemporary Chinese factory workers, she places their experiences in the context of historical and global population migrations. People migrate for a number of different reasons. Finance is, of course, a primary driver of population migration. Where there is no work and opportunity, residents are often forced to move elsewhere. Yet there are also other reasons for population migration such as personal…...

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References

Chang, L.T. (2009). Factory Girls. New York: Random House.

Chang, L.T. (2012). U.S. misses full truth on China factory workers. TED/CNN. 1 Oct, 2012. Retrieved online:  http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/30/opinion/chang-chinese-factory-workers 

Kermeliotis, T. (2011). Doing business in China: Five tips for success. CNN. 21 Oct, 2011. Retrieved online:  http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/21/business/china-business-investors-culture

The arrival of Jake's wife and son some three years after him, rather than being a happy occasion, represents to Jake the diminishing of the exciting, new life he has tried to build for himself in New York. After the arrival of his wife, Jake "thought himself a martyr, an innocent exile from a world to which he belonged by right and he frequently felt the sobs of self-pity mounting to his throat" (Cahan 93-94). Like Maggie, Jake works in a sweatshop making clothes, and like Maggie, he uses his time working to day dream about other things. However, where Maggie thinks of Pete while he is working as a means of escape from the drudgery of her factory job, Jake actually enjoys his job, because it represents such a stark contrast to his life on a farm in Russia.

Thus, Jake's thoughts while working are not of escape from his…...

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Works Cited

Cahan, Ambraham. Yekl. New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1896.

Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1896.

Huntsperger, David. "Populist Crane: A Reconsideration of Melodrama in Maggie." Texas

Studies in Literature and Language 53.3 (2011): 294-319.

Sontag actually experienced warfare from a first-hand perspective and even though she appreciates that many people try to condemn war by making use of pictures and stories, she believes that it is immature to adopt such attitudes. From her perspective, it would be impossible for a person to provide others with a chance to understand what warfare is as long as the respective individuals do not experience it themselves.

Being sad, horrified, and sharing other people's pain does not actually mean that a person knows what warfare really feels like. An individual cannot possibly be able to comprehend the horrible nature of war until he is actually present in one. The problem with only being familiar with warfare from pictures and books is that people find it difficult to see the general nature of warfare because they only focus on particular aspects of it.

Anne Frank's diary is impressive and is likely…...

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Works cited:

Frank, Anne, "The Diary of a Young Girl," (Modern Library, 1952)

Sontag, Susan, "Regarding the Pain of Others," (Picador, 01.02.2004)

In addition, she discusses some of the positive, socially constructive things that prostitutes brought to their locales, particularly in the developing West. In much of Colorado, the atmosphere was absolutely dominated by males, so that prostitutes might be the only female companionship a man could find.
MacKell ends her official coverage of prostitutes in 1930, although, throughout the book one finds references to brothels that continued to exist into the 1930s and 1940s. However, as prostitution became illegal throughout much of the state, the nature of prostitution changed. Women could no longer openly ply their trade in brothels. In 1909, oulder's red-light district closed down for good, and after 1910, one saw the same thing occur in a number of Colorado towns (MacKell, 2004, p.233). In 1930, a prostitute named Anna Ryan killed a former police officer Maurice Lyons, which was another death knell for the trade. Therefore, while brothels…...

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Bibliography

MacKell, Jan. Brothels, Bordellos, & Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado 1860-1930.

Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004.

She found a place where she could grow and succeed as herself. Diane Oakes, executive director of the Kaw Valley Council, saw girl scouting as a tool in bringing out the leader from every girl of any age. It is one of the few service organizations, which gives full voting power to its young representatives to choose council board of directors. These elected and hardworking representatives become an important voice in the council. The respect they earn from the adult members of the board boosts their self-esteem. That self-esteem, productivity and sense of achievement contribute to their total personality development into adulthood. And Amanda Atwood, a senior high school student, relished a sense of fulfillment when her opinions benefit younger girl scouts. Amanda and three other Senior Girl Scouts organized a safety program for students in the elementary level. As a result, 2,000 children received identification cards with their…...

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Bibliography

Achiever, the. (2006). Spellings addresses girl scouts leaders. 2 pages. ED.gov: Gale.

Retrieved on September 22, 2007 at  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOZFD/is_3_5/ai_n17212656 

Business Wire (2006). Girl scouting undergoes historic transformation to focus on leadership development for 21st century girls. 2 pages. Business Week: Gale Group

Girl Scouts of America (2007). What is girl scouting? Girl Scout Central. Girl Scouts of America: Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from  http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/what_is_gs