From: Iman
This picture really shocked me. Not only is the girl admitting to being a bully in public, it also seems like she might have felt she was being bullied into getting the picture taken. She most likely has a strong dominant figure in her life that influenced her in becoming more aggressive. I think her parents or a parental figure made her see that what she was doing isn’t right. Her bullying must have been destructive if her parents took a picture of her outside her school, letting people know with the sign she holds that bullying is a definite negative. She is experiencing what her victims experienced. The way she has her head down shows that she is completely humiliated, she is also trying to hide from the camera. She is in the center of the picture because she is the center of attention. She was probably striving to be the center of attention in her school but now she doesn’t seem to feel powerful. There is one guy in particular that is really looking at her in disgust. Bullying is probably something that he has gone through. The sign that’s being held is obviously a big focal point but if there was a sign and no girl the message wouldn’t hit as hard. Because the girl is put on the spot it definitely makes people think, would I want to be put in this situation?
6 comments:
A parent needs to teach morals, assertiveness and the difference between right and wrong. Children look up to their parents for guidance as they are their role models therefore they need to set good examples for their children. Parents have a moral duty to teach their children right from wrong and make sure they learn to deal with the consequences of their actions. There are many pressures in society for young teenagers today however this is why parents are supposed to help influence what teenagers are exposed to, how to interpret what they are exposed to as well as influencing who their friends are. Parents have the power to help their children to overcome societal pressures.
Societal pressures, like most things in life, are rarely all good or bad. They can be used to ones advantage. This photo shows how that takes place. The young girl is being punished, presumably by her parents, and given a taste of her own medicine. Her head hanging down, looking at the ground indicates that the effort to shame here was successful. The gazes from the other children serve as that societal pressure to change her actions. It is not comfortable to be the subject of attention in such a forum and this experience due to the social pressures it placed upon her will certainly have some effect on her future actions.
The looks on the faces of the young men and women are and interesting aspect of this photo as well. It is not possible to know what these peers of the girl are thinking it is apparent at least that they are thinking about the situation. Some will undoubtedly think of this as unfair, cruel punishment by overbearing parents. However, I suspect most are thinking about this as a negative repercussion of bullying and are grateful an adult has forced accountability. In this case the photo helps depict how positive action by parents can have impact beyond their own child and can be a positive and re-enforcing influence on other children as well.
This is all about power and the values people have. It seems as though this girl in the picture has all the power but is telling people to not choose her lifestyle. The values people have are important no matter if one is a man or a female.
Sometimes when a child bullies other children, this is their way of acting out because they are feeling inadequate about themselves. Perhaps they feel they're not recieving their parents attention at home and this is their way of getting the attention they want.
I think it is ironic that a girl is in the middle of this picture instead of a boy. You talk about a dominant figure in her life that made her be that way, which I would assume would have been one of her parents. It is ironic though because it would usually be boys who learn to be aggressive. Also, children learn more gendered behavior from their same-sex parent, so it seems even more ironic/outrageous that she would have learned such aggressive behavior from her mother. Children also bully because they are insecure about themselves. The mass of people around her could symbolize even more how she was being judged to be a bully in the first place. This girl is showing how we are socially constructed to be who we are as shown by how possibly her parents and peers conditioned her to be tough and not girly.
To think that women aren't powerful is to underestimate women entirely. On the surface, this girl is admittedly a powerful girl because she's a bully. But she is getting to know true strength at that point while she is standing there holding a sign about her bullying.
This picture is shocking but i believe this is a good tactic for punishing a child who has bullied someone. It gives the bully a chance to see being put on the spot and being teased doesnt feel good.
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