Abstract
Bullying is not what it is widely thought to be. The usual focus on behaviour and relationships in anti-bullying policies and programmes fails to address bullying as an outcome of when some children are perceived as being different from the norm, such as queer children and youth. Critiquing academic research and dominant ideas, this chapter argues that bullying has become a problem of widespread concern in the light of political and social contexts that thrust it into the public and media spotlight. Meanwhile, queer children, among others, are left at risk of further bullying, ostracization, and other forms of violence. The author advocates for a seismic shift in how bullying is understood, what he refers to as queering the notion of bullying, because ongoing efforts have failed to reduce it in significant and lasting ways.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alloway, N. (2000). Just kidding? Sex-based harassment at school. Retrieved from http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/schoolsgender/learning/yrk12focusareas/gendered/justkidding.pdf
Anderson, E. (2012). Why we’re losing the fight against bullying. Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/why-were-losing-the-fight-against-bullying/article1215943/?page=all
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York: Routledge.
Butler, J. (2004). Undoing gender. New York: Routledge.
Cappadocia, M. C., Pepler, D., Cummings, J. G., & Craig, W. (2012). Individual motivations and characteristics associated with bystander intervention during bullying episodes among children and youth. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 27(3), 201–216.
Connolly, J., Pepler, D., Craig, W., & Taradash, A. (2000). Dating experiences of bullies in early adolescence. Child Maltreatment, 5(4), 299–310.
Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., & Cooper, C. (2011). The concept of bullying and harassment at work: The European tradition. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and harassment in the workplace: Developments in theory, research, and practice (3rd ed., pp. 3–40). Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Farrington, D. P. (1993). Understanding and preventing bullying. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 17, pp. 381–458). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fenclau, E., Jr., Albright, C. M., Crothers, L. M., & Kolbert, J. B. (2014). Schoolyard scuffles to conference room chaos: Bullying across the lifespan. In J. Lipinski & L. M. Crothers (Eds.), Bullying in the workplace: Causes, symptoms, and remedies (pp. 69–84). New York: Routledge.
Field, J. E., Kolbert, J. B., Crothers, L. M., & Hughes, T. L. (2009). Understanding girl bullying and what to do about it: Strategies to help heal the divide. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.
Furedi, F. (2001). Bullying: The British contribution to the construction of a social problem. In J. Best (Ed.), How claims spread: Cross-national diffusion of social problems (pp. 89–106). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Goltz, D. B. (2013). “It Gets Better”: Queer futures, critical frustrations, and radical potentials. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 30(2), 131–151.
Hardcastle, M. (2014). How girls bully: Covert tactics used when girls bully. Retrieved from http://teenadvice.about.com/od/violencebullying/a/girlbullies.htm
Juvonen, J., & Gross, E. F. (2005). The rejected and the bullied: Lessons about social misfits from developmental psychology. In K. D. Williams, J. P. Forgas, & W. von Hippel (Eds.), The social outcast: Ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying (pp. 155–170). New York: Psychology Press.
Kosofsky Sedgwick, E. (1990). Epistemology of the closet. Oakland: University of California Press.
Lin, J. (2012). Psychologists studies make sense of bullying. Retrieved from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/bullying-jaana-juvonen-233108
Newitz, A. (2008, July 11). Brain scans reveal that teen bullies get pleasure from your pain. Retrieved from http://io9.com/5079234/brain-scans-reveal-that-teen-bullies-get-pleasure-from-your-pain
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Cambridge, UK: Blackwell.
Pepler, D., & Craig, W. (2012). Healthy development depends on healthy relationships. Retrieved from www.prevnet.ca/sites/prevnet.ca/files/HealthyRelationshipsPaper.pdf
Rehman, A. (2013). Bullied for being different. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/amber-rehman/getting-bullied-_b_2703901.html
Renda, J., Vassallo, S., & Edwards, B. (2011). Bullying in early adolescence and its association with anti-social behaviour, criminality and violence 6 and 10 years later. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 21(2), 117–127.
Ringrose, J., & Renold, E. (2010). Normative cruelties and gender deviants: The performative effects of bully discourses for girls and boys in school. British Educational Research Journal, 36(4), 573–596.
Roach, J. (2008, November 7). Bullies’ brains light up with pleasure as people squirm. National Geographic News. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081107-bully-brain.html
Ryan, J. R. (2010, November 13). “It Gets Better”…not for everybody. The Scavenger. Retrieved from http://www.thescavenger.net/sex-gender-sexual-diversity/glb-diversity/518-it-gets-better-not-for-everybody-339914.html#comment-1564
Savage, D. (2010, October 4). “It Gets Better”: A programming note. Retrieved from http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/10/04/it-gets-better-a-programming-note
Stein, N. (2003). Bullying or sexual harassment? The missing discourse of rights in an era of zero tolerance. Arizona Law Review, 45, 783–799.
Stevens, V., Van Oost, P., & de Bourdeaudhuij, I. (2000). The effects of an anti-bullying intervention programme on peers’ attitudes and behaviour. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 21–34.
Tseng, J. (2010, October 3). Does it really get better?: A conscientious critique. Retrieved from http://www.bilerico.com/2010/10/does_it_really_get_better.php#kZZGs4Extr1Gvbur.99
Van Horn, T. (2014). F*** you Dan Savage: A queer criticism of the “It Gets Better” Project. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/9477231/F_You_Dan_Savage_A_Queer_Criticism_of_the_It_Gets_Better_Project
Veldman, M. (2010, October 19). Opinion: “It Gets Better” needs to do more: Campaign for Gay Teens sidesteps the real issues. The Tech. Retrieved from http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N46/veldman.html
Ybarra, M. L., Mitchell, K. J., & Kosciw, J. (2015). The relation between suicidal ideation and bullying victimization in a national sample of transgender and non-transgender adolescents. In P. Goldblum, D. Espelage, J. Chu, & B. Bongar (Eds.), Youth suicide and bullying: Challenges and strategies for prevention and intervention (pp. 134–145). New York: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Walton, G. (2016). Bullying. In: Rodriguez, N., Martino, W., Ingrey, J., Brockenbrough, E. (eds) Critical Concepts in Queer Studies and Education. Queer Studies and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55425-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55425-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55424-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55425-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)