Not just any mean girl, mind you, but the stereotypical mean girl. While they can pop up anywhere, you can usually find this stereotype in YA contemporary fiction, specifically in the high school setting.
The Stereotype:
The first point is the absolute main point. This mean girl stereotype is always popular. She’s known in school or the beach or wherever you are and makes sure that everyone knows her. If the protagonist is new to the school, you can bet on it that she will almost instantly meet, or at the very least hear of, the stereotype. If the protagonist is not new to school, you can still bet on it that the stereotype will be mentioned very soon. This is the one that makes me wonder the most, because why popular? If you were so popular and happy with your life (although some mean girls have familial issues so there’s that…), then why go out of the way to pick on someone lower on the high school food chain? WHAT ABOUT THE BULLYING NORMAL PEOPLE? Or the depressed people who like to push their depression on others? Or the snotty geeks?
There’s a reason for that mean girl and it’s most likely because she adds more draaaama. While authors may add unnecessary details to a story, placing a mean girl in there will probably have the same reason: to add conflict. What I find is that the protagonist is having trouble on her own, but then the stereotype shakes it up even more. That cute guy the main character likes, but is having family issues or other issues in her life? Oh, the stereotype will definitely be whispering something in the cute guy’s ear or at the very least, messing with the main character’s thinking about the cute guy. She might reveal something in the story or just bully in general, making the protagonist look like a fighting hero amidst all miserable high school odds.
What I’m also wondering is if the popular girl wants to create drama and make the protagonist’s life miserable AND they have a past together…what’s the point? It usually seems that the storyline is that they used to be best friends until the mean girl becomes popular and shuns her old best friend. So then they magically become archenemies? Did the protagonist DO something that they are oblivious to or purposefully excluding out? Seriously. What. Is. The. POINT?!
A mean girl stereotype is not a mean girl at all if she does not have her little friend accessories. She will have minions or airheads or the mean girl assistant right by her side…but a little behind (to not take away any spotlight, of course). These friends are her personal accessories and the protagonist better watch out. The minions will either cheer on their leader, laugh at the protagonist’s fallings, or help create some evil plot. So my question is, what’s up with the mean friends? I’m guessing they are drone-like because if they were as mean as our stereotype, they would be fighting for leadership. What about being equals?
Oh, a cheerleader is not only popular, but always set out to be a mindless meanie. In this case, the cheerleader’s favorite accessory would be her jock boyfriend. I really can’t tell you how this creates the most frustration with me. I’m not, never have or will be, a cheerleader. However, I know cheerleaders and they are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Cheerleaders are not all bad, you know. This actually coincides with what I think about the first point. WHY a cheerleader? Why not a geek or a normal student?
Blonde conveys a message of being an airhead along with being the mean top dog all at once. Or at least, that’s what the authors seem to always want us to think. No, they’re not an airhead when it comes to planning torture on our beloved protagonist, but the main character seems to mock their intelligence. Probably because the blonde is a fit cheerleader and they’re jealous. Of course, this point is laughable since my best friend is blonde and I seriously have to encourage her to SPEAK UP because she can’t be Ms. Nice Girl all the time. So many blondes out there are not airheads or mean or anything else except…human.
The stereotype always seems to pick out the protagonist out to pick on the most out of lots and lots of others. Sure, the mean girl will pick on others. But the protagonist will most likely get the worst of it all. This one I don’t get the logic to. The claim is usually that the mean girl feels jealous or threatened either by the protagonist’s newness or looks or how well she seems to be fitting in or how she’s catching the hot guy’s attention. In reality, there are TONS of students in one school. Why is the popular mean girl making this one girl’s life miserable? Oh yeah…the book is about that one girl and she has to be made a victim in some way, right?
You can’t be a popular blonde cheerleader with minions without being wealthy because that makes you cool. I mean, one of the reasons she is popular is probably the fact that she (or really, her parents) are loaded. Sometimes her friends are moochers while the rest of the school loves her parties. This really comes in handy when the protagonist is poor and the mean girl can tease or mock her and the protagonist can be all whiny. Poor people are bullies too!
So if you haven’t caught on yet, I am against and so over this trend/stereotype. Let’s have some change! If a “mean girl” needs to be presented in the novel, I strongly suggest to maybe change it up and not have your mean girl be the stereotype. Imagination, it’s a wonderful thing. If I read a book that’s just “eh” for me, but has a non-stereotypical mean girl like a geek or *gasp!* normal girl, I will probably give it a bonus point just for not bringing in the stereotype.
Now once again, being a lover of discussion posts, I would really love to hear your thoughts on it below!
What do you think about this stereotype? Does it annoy you? What’s another typical attribute that’s included with this stereotype?
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