This little article got me thinking:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/03/14/i_was_a_mean_girl_i_got_my_revenge_20_years_later.html?wpisrc=obinsite

The article isn't that great---it's basically a puff piece, but one paragraph that stood out to me:

"find a mother of a girl, any age will do, and I’ll bet she has an anecdote about a mean girl who has harmed her or her daughter. I'll bet another dollar that you will NOT hear that mother reflect on instances of her own mean behavior..."

I've said this before in a bullying thread: I was never bullied. I can think of exactly one instance in my entire life when someone sort of tried to bully me---a random girl a year older than me came up to me at a school dance in middle school, asked if I'd been staring at her boyfriend and said she wanted to beat me up--even at that age, I thought the whole thing was laughable. We were surrounded by teachers and parents in the school cafeteria, I didn't know who she was or who her boyfriend was, so I had no interest in either of them and told her that. Then I walked away (in what I imagined was a haughty way at the time) and nothing else happened.

But after reading this...I realized I can't even really think of any times I experienced a true Mean Girl. I had friends who suddenly became BFFs with someone else, but sometimes that person that suddenly had a new BFF was me, and I never took it hard either way. I'm the same way as an adult. My friend circle is pretty fluid...sometimes either I or a friend moves away, and I don't take it personally, I just move on. I'm literally not bothered by it.

Maybe it's because I'm from a big family, so I never needed to be "needed" as much by outside friends? Maybe I've just been lucky to be a woman who escaped the Mean Girl phenomenon unscathed? Maybe I'm too oblivious to recognize the barbs and minefields other women are setting up for me? Maybe it's a combination of all of these things?

What have your experiences been with Mean Girls (both as an adult and growing up)? Is this something you've experienced a lot? Do you think the author is right that pretty much every woman experiences it and is the Mean Girl herself at times?

Tell me about your experiences with Mean Girls and if/how you've been a Mean Girl yourself. I do have a couple of instances where I know I've been perceived as a Mean Girl, but I would say being mean was not my intention---I'll post more about it after I see some other people's responses.