Odd Girl Out The Hidden Culture Of 2 at Amazon
From Publishers Weekly
This sequel to the hot bestseller Odd Girl Out compiles pseudonymous accounts of bullying, backstabbing also different nastiness that girls utter they go through more established or perpetrated on esoteric girls, intercut along furthermore transitory piece of writing fancy opinionated scientist Simmons. Simmons argues that for the reason that “thousands of years, ladies taste been barred savours contact aggression,” though instinct jealous, competitive or threatened are “natural, appropriate” replies to the real world we live in. Furthermore, given that “girls are taught that maintaining rage right away is wrong, scores of girls (and women) withstand no election except to resort to undisclosed acts of meanness.” Although there is zilch “secret” regarding certain of the nastiness the girls inside this essay describe-they’re absolutely verbal inside their abuse, extraordinarily recognizable along with ponder their shunning of different girls-there are additional quintessential predicaments as well as Simmons’s model. Since she finds aggression universal, there’s no appetite to gander given that the cheerful girls. She attains not contains accounts indulge in sort teen women, however albeit their insights into breathing a satisfactory living may possibly engagement instructive. Still, this anthology’s target spectator is the missy inside trouble, plus Simmons has sundry decent advice: e.g., don’t get transgression perfect away, don’t presume you taste an distinctive relationship in addition to anyone, don’t undertake to IM (instant message) your manners finished a fight, don’t come clean with a terrible relationship, obtain mixed up inside useful activities, troth brand as soon as ditching an older finest friend, etc. It’s not a lot of varied savours whatever kid suggestion manuals suffer steadily offered, save for various readers may possibly come across Simmons’s presumption-of-wickedness manifestation several disarming than the conventional, presumption-of-goodness literature.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Sara Shandler’s Ophelia Speaks(1999) answered to Mary Pipher’s watershed heading Reviving Ophelia (1994) plus teens’ own comments near to the predicaments of sprouting conscious a “girl poisoning” society. Now Simmons releases a compilation of teens’ terms that builds on her own groundbreaking work, Odd Girl Out (2002), near to the covert way of life of aggression amid teenage girls. In this collection, Simmons draws like her workshops and teens, granting anecdotes, poems, furthermore letters written by tykes since nonetheless since her own insightful commentary. The chapters are loosely meant also analyze hostile indulge in a type of angles: the voices of the bully, the victim, as well as the not-so-innocent bystander the whole lot talk here. Simmons as well explores the other subtle hurts that come relishes modifying friendships plus simmering jealousies. A section almost “finding your inner strength” closes the textbook on a apprehensive note. Parents, teachers, in addition to social people will observe this revealing, other than the book’s numerous observable eavesdropper is the juvenile aged who will detect support, direction, with yet a group their peers’ words. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Praise because Odd Girl Out
“[Simmons] peels in different places the smiley surfaces of teenage opposite sex population to divulge only of girlhood’s mysterious secrets: the malicious mental warfare waged every daytime inside the halls of our focal point schools also pricey schools.”-San Francisco Chronicle
“This is the work we withstand been impediment for. . . . Simmons has presented opening to the girls who attempt routine also friendships. She has unearthed a secret universe of aggression that unfolds at the back of adults’ backs.”-Susan Wellman, president of The Ophelia Project
“Thought-provoking . . . Probes the psychological underpinnings of girls’ aggression.”-Newsweek
The federal government bestseller Odd Girl Out bared a obscure custom of cruelty that older often been peacefully persisted by American girls. As Rachel Simmons toured the country, these girls found out their voices in addition to conversed to her near to their pain. They hunted to talk-and they weren’t the sole ones. Mothers, teachers, counselors, teen authority women, also fathers, arrived to Rachel as well as heart-wrenching private stories that would no longer engagement kept secret.
Here, Rachel creates a sheltered neighborhood since girls to talk, rant, blare off, in addition to uncover each other. The end result is a group of astonishing accounts of the inner lives of teen girls. Candid along with disarming, positive furthermore expressive, furthermore for all time entirely self-aware, these poems, songs, confessions, as well as essays make a chronicle of American girlhood. They tell us how deeply cruelty flows plus how strongly these girls wish to change.
Odd Girl Out aided girls detect their voices; Odd Girl Speaks Out helps one another say to their stories.
I’m often the atypical babe out
No single chats to me
I attempt to troth dear in addition to verbalize out
But I’m invisible, see?
You know, anecdote is a organic fixation costly school. I’m solitary of those girls that will
do it true front of you. I’ll whisper at my friends furthermore glance at you the entire time.
Then we’ll the entirety cut up conscious laughing. You fathom we’re speaking concerning you.
My top colleague furthermore I set out to individual friends with this peculiar girl. But she was fat. It was tough given that she regularly sought to set off sip the slide moment plus she can mash us. We didn’t yearn to enlighten her she was fat, thence we resolve to seep her. Her mum telephoned my mamma and
told her we were someone mean. But we without problems couldn’t troth friends in addition to her anymore.
-from Odd Girl Speaks Out
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #355937 inside Books
- Published on: 2004-01-19
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .56″ h x 5.30″ w x 8.06″ l, .49 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 199 pages
Reviews
46 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Girl Bullying Is a Big Deal
By Carmen Matthews
When someone say’s to you, “Oh! They’re just jealous. Give them time. They will come around, ‘Do you question your sanity?’”
And, isn’t this another way of telling you that you are flawed, that you should feel ashamed of yourself, and that you need to give up being who you are – or else?”
“Odd Girl Speaks Out,” is a wonderful book, written with 11-22 year-old girls in mind. But, every woman can get something out of this, because by age 8, and for the rest of our lives, we are socialized with these 3 unspoken rules:
1. Don’t Compete;
2. Don’t Outdo; and,
3. Make the guys more valuable to you, than girls could possibly be.
We are also socialized to not directly confront conflict, especially with other girls.
And we learn, at an early age, to base our worthiness upon hanging onto our best girlfriends, at the price of our own worthiness.
I’m so glad to have read this book, because each letter, written by the 11-22 year-old contributors, reminds us that Girl Power is not about seeking legislative rights, although I wouldn’t want to reverse what our foremothers have given us.
Girl Power also is not about blaming men for what we haven’t succinctly communicated to them.
Girl Power is about facing the reality of the darker side of being girls. It is where we stop seeking targets in other women/girls, to make them look worse than we feel about ourselves. Allgirls are socialized to believe that power for girls is limited, and that if the other girl has it, she has taken away all the possibility for her to have power.
What troubled me, though, about this book were 2 things:
1. Never did the author explore how girl bullying is passed on between the mother/daughter wounds, and the decisions that mother make about what society expects of them.
2. Throughout this book, Simmons advocates girls changing schools when things are overwhelmingly difficult. The problem with this is: You are leaving with yourself. Whatever wound you have, whatever disempowering habit you created in reaction to being attacked is something that you will express at the new school, until you overcome your fears, and develop skills to defuse and deflect negative energy that is coming towards you, from others.
That being said, I still appreciate reading this book, and knowing that Simmons is brave enough to turn her own experiences into helping millions of others around the world.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful.Forget Diamonds-ODD GIRL is a girl’s best friend.
By Barbara Seaman
It’s obvious that the ODD GIRL books have helped dry the tears, and restore the equilibrium, of millions among the undeserviedly abused. Thanks to Rachel Simmons, we pick ourselves up from the floor and soldier on.
But there is more. ODD GIRL SPEAKS OUT has the power to unleash a spring of creativity in those who ” make art.” whether it be writing, music, painting, or theatre.
True story: Several children in a fourth grade class volunteered to write an opera. But they were stumped. One girl happened on a copy of ODD GIRL SPEAKS OUT. She couldn’t put it down . She instantly got the idea that “betrayal” could be their operatic theme. All of the kids” got it,’ and the more they looked in the book the more great ideas they had for the plot, the characters, the music, the stage sets. : BUBBLING BETRAYAL was the name. It was a big hit, and many in the audiences said that it was like a grown- up opera in its depth and emotion, yet it dealt with the real life experience of kids.
So for those among you who want to write truthfully and from your heart, -first read this book!. ODD GIRL SPEAKS OUT could “light your pilot” as it already has for one fourth grade class.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
A teen’s perspective on an almost four star book
By Angel of the Future
“Odd Girl Speaks Out” is a book of short stories by teen and preteen girls about their experiences with relationships between other girls. Opening the beginning of each section is commentary by the editor relating to what the section will be about.
What’s Good-
1) Certain authors make powerful statements of self realization at the end of their stories. Ex-In “Who My Friends Really Were”, the author states, “No longer do I judge or label…And most importantly I want everyone to know that no matter how bad things seem, they do get better…I got better.” In “I Was the One Word that Everyone Fears: Alone”, the author says, “Through my experiences I became a stronger person. I learned so much about myself and about others.”
2) Some authors prefer to express themselves in poetry. Their poetry tells a story just like those who write in article format but is more direct. Those who like to read stories in article format but also enjoy poetry might find this refreshing (like I did).
3) The editor offers commentary about each of the sections of the book and some of it is helpful. Ex-In a snippet about talking to a friend about a problem, she offers three tips definitely worth using: Listen, Stay with the issue, and if need be, Apologize. In a snippet about losing trust in relationships with girls, she says not to give up on girls forever.
4) Certain stories can be inspiration for performing. Ex-”Just to Make You Happy” is written in monologue form and with a few changes is perfect for a drama performance.
What’s Not So Good-
1) The story entitled “Friend Trouble”. It feels like the whole story is the author complaining about her two friends for various reasons without offering any substance. Also, instead of making up names for her two friends she refers to them as “my skinny friend” and “my fat friend” and herself as “average fat”. This is one story I don’t recommend reading at all.
2) The editor mentions that for some girls who are constantly picked on, moving can not only be a fresh start but they can also become more popular. What she doesn’t stress enough is that if those constantly picked on girls are carrying around heavy grudges, they still might have problems.
3) Sometimes the editor puts too much of herself into her commentary. She mentions a few experiences she had with her own friendships and at one point when she was talking about parents she wrote down what they said and “responded” back. In a book where girls are supposed to speak for themselves, it would be a good idea if she backed off and offered the advice with no emotional attachment.
Final Recommendations-
All in all this is a decent book with decent stories, but I recommend scanning through it first before buying.
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