Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior
Relational aggression has long been considered the "weapon of choice" for young women seeking to harm others through persistent manipulation or damage to relationships. However, in recent media articles in Australia, young men have been reported to use the same aggressive strategies to tar...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The International Academic Forum
2018-04-01
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| Series: | IAFOR Journal of Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-psychology-and-the-behavioral-sciences/volume-4-issue-1/article-5/ |
| _version_ | 1818248518544916480 |
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| author | Angela Page Marguerite Jones Jennifer Charteris Adele Nye |
| author_facet | Angela Page Marguerite Jones Jennifer Charteris Adele Nye |
| author_sort | Angela Page |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Relational aggression has long been considered the "weapon of choice" for young women seeking to harm others through persistent manipulation or damage to relationships. However, in recent media articles in Australia, young men have been reported to use the same aggressive strategies to target young women. This article explores the themes drawn from a content analysis of 30 newspaper articles that report an Internet website established to "trade" sexual images of teenage girls. We argue that the prevalent forms and functions of girls' relational aggression, as described in the literature, are also evident in the perpetrating behavior of boys. We contend that the expression of such behavior prompts discussion of a gendered alternative to what is considered as "mean". The reported actions of young men can be recognized as aggressive and dangerous. It is damaging to dismiss "mean boys" subjectivities as merely "boys being boys". |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:21:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-270e86c93bea478a98bbc1e5e226c216 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2187-0675 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:21:52Z |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | The International Academic Forum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IAFOR Journal of Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-270e86c93bea478a98bbc1e5e226c2162022-12-22T00:20:21ZengThe International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences2187-06752018-04-0141567510.22492/ijpbs.4.1.05Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous BehaviorAngela Page0Marguerite Jones1Jennifer Charteris2Adele Nye3University of New England, AustraliaUniversity of New England, AustraliaUniversity of New England, AustraliaUniversity of New England, AustraliaRelational aggression has long been considered the "weapon of choice" for young women seeking to harm others through persistent manipulation or damage to relationships. However, in recent media articles in Australia, young men have been reported to use the same aggressive strategies to target young women. This article explores the themes drawn from a content analysis of 30 newspaper articles that report an Internet website established to "trade" sexual images of teenage girls. We argue that the prevalent forms and functions of girls' relational aggression, as described in the literature, are also evident in the perpetrating behavior of boys. We contend that the expression of such behavior prompts discussion of a gendered alternative to what is considered as "mean". The reported actions of young men can be recognized as aggressive and dangerous. It is damaging to dismiss "mean boys" subjectivities as merely "boys being boys".https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-psychology-and-the-behavioral-sciences/volume-4-issue-1/article-5/relational aggressionmediagender |
| spellingShingle | Angela Page Marguerite Jones Jennifer Charteris Adele Nye Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior IAFOR Journal of Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences relational aggression media gender |
| title | Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior |
| title_full | Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior |
| title_fullStr | Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior |
| title_short | Relational Aggression and the “Mean Boy”: Re-gendering Concepts of Aggressive and Dangerous Behavior |
| title_sort | relational aggression and the mean boy re gendering concepts of aggressive and dangerous behavior |
| topic | relational aggression media gender |
| url | https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-psychology-and-the-behavioral-sciences/volume-4-issue-1/article-5/ |
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