Bullying, Gender Equity, and Conflict in School Settings

Introduction

One of the harsh realities of life in the United States is the potential for bullying behaviors to adversely affect the learning environment for young victims, transforming the school from a place of learning into one that is dreaded and feared. Moreover, bullying behaviors can have a profound effect on the manner in which young people are socialized concerning gender roles, as well as their perspectives on equity later in life. To determine the facts about these issues, this paper provides a review of the literature concerning bullying and conflict in relation to learning about gender and other forms of equity, and the implications these have for students and teachers. A summary of the research and important findings is presented in the conclusion.

Defining Bullying and Its Prevalence in U.S. Schools

In a school context, bullying is defined by Isernhagen and Harris (2009) as any type of instance in which "a student is exposed repeatedly to negative actions by one or more other students" (p. 5). In response to the growing recognition of the problem, there has been an ongoing nationwide campaign and more aggressive zero-tolerance policies implemented by school districts across the country, aimed at reducing the incidence of bullying in schools. To date, however, these strategies have largely failed to address the antecedents to the problem head-on (Fuller & Gulbrandson, 2013). In this regard, Meyer (2008) emphasizes that "many schools have been trying to combat violence and harassing behaviors by implementing blanket bullying policies that do little to address the underlying issues of the school climate and culture that allow these behaviors to persist" (p. 35).

Unfortunately, the problem may be far more severe than estimates suggest. Notwithstanding zero-tolerance and other anti-bullying policies implemented in recent years, current estimates indicate that about 15% of all students are still being bullied or engaging in bullying behaviors (Isernhagen & Harris, 2009), while other estimates place the incidence far higher. Research has shown that fully 80% of middle school students in the U.S. report initiating direct bullying incidents at least once a month (Isernhagen & Harris, 2009). According to Isernhagen and Harris (2009), direct bullying involves "hitting, taunting, threatening, teasing, stealing, excluding, or spreading rumors" — behaviors most commonplace during the elementary and middle school years, tapering off somewhat when students enter high school (p. 6). Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence indicates that bullying behaviors continue well into the high school years and even into the adult workplace in some cases. In fact, bullying is virtually universal throughout American society and the practice is socially ingrained in the national consciousness (Gilbert & Raffo, 2013). As Kirby (2001) points out, "You can't grow up without encountering a bully. It's not a stretch to suggest that our culture is built, in part, on a culture of bullying. It's in the school yard, on the playing field, and in the workplace" (p. 30).

Gender-Related Bullying and Harassment

When bullying behaviors are gender-related, the problem becomes even more complex and potentially harmful to victims. Popp and Peguero (2014) report that "school bullying has detrimental consequences for its victims, including undermining students' educational outcomes. Furthermore, gender has been shown to play a significant role in determining the type of bullying victimization experienced and educational outcomes" (p. 843). The results of a study by Meyer (2008) indicate that gender-related bullying can be sufficiently insidious to avoid detection by teachers and administrators, yet can have an enormous negative impact on those targeted, including diminished academic performance, increased absenteeism, substance abuse problems, depression, and even suicidal behaviors.

Gendered harassment is defined by Meyer (2008) as "any behavior that acts to assert the boundaries of traditional gender norms: heterosexual masculinity and femininity"; these behaviors can include "(hetero)sexual harassment, homophobic harassment, and harassment for gender non-conformity (or transphobic harassment)" (p. 34). Although gendered harassment is similar to bullying, it assumes some different forms — though these may subsume certain types of bullying behaviors, including violence (Meyer, 2008). Moreover, the negative effects of gender-related bullying can be even more severe than those of other bullying types. As Meyer concludes, "Students who are targets of sexual and homophobic harassment have been identified as being at even greater risk for these harmful behaviors and leaving school" (p. 34).

While many victims of gender-related bullying may opt to leave school altogether or pursue a homeschooled curriculum, others may elect to take more drastic actions — including harming their tormentors or themselves — and both of these undesirable outcomes have become increasingly frequent in recent years. In the majority of cases, however, victims of gender-related bullying and harassment simply "suffer in silence," due in large part to the unwritten but ubiquitous "schoolyard code" that prohibits reporting incidents, until they can graduate and escape their tormentors. In fact, nearly two-thirds (64%) of American students who are victims of bullying do not report the incidents (Petrosino, Guckenburg, DeVoe, & Hanson, 2010). Characteristics of bullying victimization that have been shown to prompt higher levels of reporting include incidents involving physical injuries, the destruction of property, actual physical contact (such as shoving or pushing), higher frequency of bullying, bullying occurring in more than one location, and, interestingly, at least one incident occurring on a school bus (Petrosino et al., 2010).

As noted above, gender-related bullying may assume forms that are difficult to detect, but in many cases such behaviors are simply ignored by educators despite their demonstrated negative effects on victims (Meyer, 2008). In fact, sustained harassment in the form of verbal abuse can have the same adverse impact as less frequent physically violent attacks (Meyer, 2008). Despite the clear need for better strategies, many policies implemented by schools in recent years have failed to account for these types of abusive behaviors. As Meyer (2008) points out, "Bullying and zero-tolerance policies do not consider the cultural and societal antecedents of violence in schools. Neither do these programs consider psychological violence" (p. 34).

It is also important to note that gender-related bullying by males — the primary perpetrators — is not limited to female targets but can include virtually any student who does not appear to conform to traditionally accepted American gender roles. Fetner and Elafros (2012) note that "schools can be sites of bullying and abuse for lesbian and gay youth, or for anyone who does not closely conform to traditional gender roles" (p. 189). Despite some modest progress in addressing this type of gender-related bullying in recent years — due in large part to shifting social views among the American mainstream — the problem remains nearly as commonplace as other types of bullying (Fetner & Elafros, 2012).

Moreover, educators may actually encourage or at least facilitate gender-related bullying and harassment by failing to recognize it when it occurs in their classrooms, and through the types of classroom activities they incorporate into their curricula. As Fuller and Gulbrandson (2013) point out, "There are two components of bullying that are evident in nearly all school settings: teachers are often unaware that bullying is occurring, and activity choices can encourage bullying behavior" (p. 5). While gender-related bullying and harassment can occur in any type of classroom, physical education settings are especially rife with these opportunities (Fuller & Gulbrandson, 2013).

Conclusion

The results of the research strongly indicate that there are, in broad terms, two main types of students in the United States today: bullies and victims of bullies. Bullying is so pervasive in American society that it is the rare individual who manages to avoid it altogether during their lifetime, and far too many adults regard bullying — or surviving bullying — as rites of passage that are natural and normal for young people searching for their identities during this formative period. In reality, bullying can have life-threatening implications and constitutes criminal behavior rather than a benign rite of passage.

It is reasonable to conclude that the extent to which educators and administrators fail to recognize the problem in their own schools will be the extent to which gender-related bullying and harassment will continue to adversely affect increasing numbers of American youth — an outcome that runs contrary to the greater tolerance now being extended to those who deviate from traditional gender roles in mainstream American society.

References

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Cyberbullying data. (2017). Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved from http://cyberbullying.org/2015-data.

Fetner, T. & Elafros, A. (2012, May). Safe spaces: Gay-straight alliances in high schools. Canadian Review of Sociology, 49(2), 188–192.

Fuller, B. & Gulbrandson, K. (2013, November–December). Bully prevention in the physical education classroom. Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, 26(6), 3–6.

Gilbert, J. A. & Raffo, D. M. (2013, Spring). Gender, conflict, and workplace bullying: Is civility policy the silver bullet? Journal of Managerial Issues, 25(1), 79–82.

Isernhagen, J. & Harris, S. (2009, Spring). A comparison of bullying in four rural middle and high schools. Rural Educator, 25(3), 5–9.

Kirby, D. (2001, July 3). What makes a bully? The Advocate, 30.

Meyer, E. (2008, Winter). A feminist reframing of bullying and harassment: Transforming schools through critical pedagogy. McGill Journal of Education, 43(1), 33–36.

Petrosino, A., Guckenburg, S., DeVoe, J., & Hanson, T. (2010, August). What characteristics of bullying, bullying victims, and schools are associated with increased reporting of bullying to school officials? National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance: REL 2010-No. 092.

Popp, A. M. & Peguero, A. A. (2014, October 1). Gender, bullying victimization, and education. Violence and Victims, 29(5), 843–847.