The culture of Hispanic female bullies: An exploration of retrospective narrative reports of their socially aggressive behaviors in secondary school
Abstract
This qualitative interview study examined retrospective accounts of six Hispanic females
between the age of 19 and 23 that attended school in a South Texas school district and who selfidentify as having bullied or committed social aggression regarding their the motivation and
experiences. Six females participated in the interview study. Scholars in education,
criminology, and psychology noted that the mean girl phenomenon of bullying and social
aggression has been overwhelmingly perceived as a White upper-class problem (Chesney-Lind
& Irwin, 2004, 2008; Gonick, 2004; Ringrose, 2006) because of this, my study sought to
understand how Hispanic females who identified as bullies processed the cultural discourse of
social aggression and bullying. The main goal throughout the course of the study was to explore
the stories and experiences recollected from the participants past social aggressive experiences to
understand the process of the mean girl phenomenon of bullying and social aggression (ChesneyLind & Irwin, 2004, 2008; Gonick, 2006; Ringrose, 2006).
Because the majority of the research found on relational or social aggression pertained to
white, middle to upper class females (Dellasega & Nixon, 2003), I purposely chose to explore
the narratives of Hispanic females as relational or social aggressors, as South Texas is highly
populated with Hispanic females and the university is considered a Hispanic Serving Institute.
As reflected by the data shared by the participants, the problem of bullying and social aggression
is not specific to class or race. Similar to the research conducted of white middle to upper class,
the data suggested that the Hispanic female social aggressors that participated in my study were
also trying to find ways to react and express aggressiveness without “breaking out of the
expectant mold of passiveness and niceness” to outsiders (Dellasega & Nixon, 2003).
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesThis material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with its source. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the author and/or publisher.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
The following license files are associated with this item: