AUSTIN, Texas, April 29, 2002 --

What:
"Girl fighting" is often a hallmark of middle school, and one of the most difficult times in girls’ lives. Young teen girls may express aggression through hurtful words, gossip and other forms of relational violence that can damage girls emotionally.

This type of relational aggression is the subject of recent scrutiny with the release of two books covering the subject matter: Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons, and Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman.

GENaustin (Girls Empowerment Network), an Austin-based non-profit organization, addresses the issue of girl aggression in a GENaustin Speaker Series presentation titled “Girls as Friends; Girls as Foes,” and as part of the curriculum of their girl clubs, called clubGEN. GENaustin speakers and relational aggression experts Carolyn Brooks and Cindy Austin, and the high school facilitators of the clubGENs are available for comment on this issue.

Who:
Carolyn Brooks, West Ridge Middle School counselor and volunteer for GENaustin; and Cindy Austin, former Eanes Middle School counselor and volunteer for GENaustin. Carolyn Brooks and Cindy Austin collaborate to facilitate many GENaustin workshops regarding adolescent girl aggression. The local experts discuss why it happens and how parents and teachers can develop coping strategies and solutions.

Miranda Oropeza and Lauren Hermes, high school students and clubGEN facilitators. Miranda and Lauren lead clubGEN at an elementary and middle school in Austin. Having helped develop a curriculum and weekly activities for the girls, they meet with the girls once per week to address topics such as dating, drugs, peer pressure and girl aggression. Having put together a presentation that has been attended by both Good Morning America and Time for Kids, they are available to discuss girl aggression and what GENaustin is doing to stop it.

How:
To contact the GENaustin experts, call the GENaustin office at 512/414-0472 or email at [email protected] or visit GENaustin’s Web site at www.genaustin.org.

This site was last updated on 1/04/2005.

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