Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Studies that substantiate the cultural wisdom that boys are more aggressive than girls appear to have a bias built into key defining elements of the research itself. Time and again, we find aggression conflated with overt physical acts. But beyone these blatant physical assaults is a more concealed form of aggression, one which is common among girls. Required to be 'nice', girls aggress in covert, discreet, and insidious ways. Their attempts to harm others are evident in behaviors that manipulate, damage, and even destroy RELATIONSHIPS.
In this paper, I begin to explore this phenomenon, called 'relational aggression', by integrating cognitive and developmental theories within a sociological framework. I argue that the cultural foundations of relational aggression lie in metanarratives which do not encompass the negative emotions of women. Thus, emotional violence, its perpetrators, and most importantly its victims do not surface on the cultural radar. The deficiency within existing cultural templates prompts the question at the heart of this piece, namely, how are these aggressive acts processed by their victims? A consideration of the role of memory in narrative development shows how healthy identity formation may be damaged by this form of implicit, culturally sanctioned abuse.
Finally, I offer some suggestions to begin containing the damage wrought by relationally aggressive behavior.