The gossip girls

Playful fight starts amongst the boys. They are running around, chasing and challenging each other. Its all part of growing-up and sizing-up each others strength. But more often these days this play-thing ends up in bitter arguments or fist-fights. No doubt our children have become more individualistic these days. They have less tolerance for others and a low threshold. However with boys, things are quickly forgotten. In couple of hours you can see them playing some other physical game.

Not so with girls. Girls have gossip-circles from which you can be excluded if you go cross with the group. And this is so devastating to the excluded girl. It affects her for many days. It is long time before another coalition is formed. Girls use this trick to marginalise an individual very effectively. More often the girl being excluded never get back her original comfort level with the group.

Somehow not being included in the gossip-circle is much more hurtful to a girl than boys getting into fist-fights. May be girls give lot more importance to the perceived status than boys do. Boys may be paying more attention to the intrinsic worth rather than perceived status.