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“I knew how this would be settled in animal world, but this was Girl World. And in Girl World all the fighting had to be sneaky”
Narcissistic Hierarchies Are So Fetch: Girl World Paralleling American Culture
Teenage girls today live in a jungle of Plastic friends, heartless gossip, and savage competition. Rosalind Wiseman, the cofounder of the Empower Program, a non-profit organization working to stop social aggression and violence amongst girls and boys, labeled this microcosm “Girl World.” Screenwriter Tina Fey worked closely with Rosalind Wiseman on the screenplay for Mean Girls, crediting the book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, as the basis for the script. Wiseman wrote her how-to guide to help parents teach their daughter how to “survive cliques, gossip, boyfriends, and other realities of adolescence” in 2002. Girl World’s social hierarchy, as shown in Mean Girls, places the “Queen Bee” at the top, feeding off of the admiration of “Wannabes” who will fall all over themselves and do almost anything to be in the Queen Bee’s good graces. This social hierarchy mirrors that of modern American celebrity-obsessed culture. Celebrities are the “Queen Bees” of current American society, feeding off the attention and admiration of Wannabes. The Wannabes are the avid viewers of shows like Entertainment Tonight and the subscribers to check-out line tabloids like Star magazine, desperately flocking to celebrities and waiting anxiously for the latest gossip about society’s latest cover girls and boys. Both “Girl World” and our celebrity-infused culture value intimacy, thriving on this type of personal details. In the search for this intimacy, Wannabes project their insecurities, hopes, and dreams onto Queen Bees, becoming just as dependent on the Queen Bees for inspiration as the narcissistic Queen Bee is dependent on their attention. This is a dangerous cycle, promoting social aggression as Wannabes scramble to get closer to the top of the hierarchy and Queen Bees fight to maintain their power. The dangerous cycle of social aggression apparent in Girl World is a mirror of current American celebrity-obsessed culture, and only when current American society stops promoting narcissism and creating social hierarchies will Girl World do the same.
Girl world’s social hierarchy is extraordinarily sophisticated. Wiseman introduces the hierarchy with the following: “We need to give girls credit for the sophistication of their social structures. Our politicians and diplomats couldn’t do better than a teen girl does in understanding the social intrigue and political landscape that lead to power” (Wiseman 24). The social hierarchy is known to its Girl World constituents in Mean Girls, which can be seen as the character Janis Ian, a Wannabe, observes a gym class with Cady, “And evil takes a human form in Regina George. Don't be fooled, because she may seem like your typical selfish, back-stabbing, slut-faced ho-bag. But in reality, she is so much more than that. She's the queen bee. The star” (Waters). Regina George is undeniably the Queen Bee in Mean Girls, entering the film carried gracefully into gym class on the makeshift throne of two football players’ shoulders. Wiseman defines the “Queen Bee” as “a combination of the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland and Barbie” who “reigns supreme” with a mixture of “charisma, force, money, looks, will, and manipulation” (Wiseman 25). The Wannabe’s sense of self-worth is inextricably linked to the Queen Bee. The Queen Bee, a true narcissist, thrives on this attention and sense of importance derived from their power over the Wannabes. The Wannabe waits anxiously for the Queen Bee to stumble and fall from grace. When the Queen Bee falters, the Wannabe sees human qualities in the Queen Bee and thus feels closer to the top of the social hierarchy - a self-esteem boost. In a New York Times article Wiseman drew the connection to celebrity culture, “And the Queen Bees? Well some grow out of their girly sense of entitlement on their own, surely; some channel it in more productive directions. Martha Stewart must have been a Q.B. Same with Madonna” (Talbot 24). According to Dr. Sam Vankin, author of Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited, Queen Bees, especially celebrities, suffer from a narcissistic addiction to attention from others to compensate for chronic low self-esteem. Conversely psychologist Ann Garland theorizes that Wannabes project their insecurities, hopes, and dreams onto the narcissistic Queen Bees in order to disown parts of their personality. This creates a give and take cycle between Queen Bees and Wannabes - the Queen Bees requiring attention to feed their chronic self-esteem issues, while the Wannabes need to project onto the Queen Bees to take attention away from unwanted parts of their personality. This cycle does not sound harmful in theory, but the concept of social aggression makes this co-dependency extraordinarily dangerous. Professors Emilio Ulloa and Monica Ulibarri explain in their studies that people, teenage girls especially, are not encouraged to express their frustrations with society, which leads to social aggression, such as the spreading of degrading rumors, against easier targets. With the introduction of social aggression, the cycle of attention-dependency between Queen Bees and Wannabes becomes dangerous, as Wannabes express their frustrations by attempting to tear down the Queen Bee and Queen Bees express their frustrations by fighting to stay on top. This cycle fuels the struggle of protagonist Cady Heron as she attends a new high school and unknowingly challenges the existing social hierarchy.
Queen Bees, in both the context of Girl World and our celebrity-infused culture, are narcissistic by definition. Dr. Sam Vankin tells that there is “popular misconception” that narcissists actually love themselves, but in actuality “they direct their love to other people's impressions of them” (Vankin). The god Narcissus himself fell in love not with himself, but with his reflection. Vankin continues, “But to love his reflection - it must be loveable. Thus, driven by the insatiable urge to love (which we all possess), the narcissist is preoccupied with projecting a loveable image, albeit compatible with his self-image (the way he "sees" himself)” (Vankin). The character Regina George, the Queen Bee of the elite Plastics, is undoubtedly “preoccupied with projecting” an image of herself worthy of love. When Cady asks Damian who “The Plastics” are, he responds, “They're teen royalty.” Unknowing that she will eventually be placed on an equal playing field as a “cold, hard, shiny Plastic,” Cady describes Regina early in the movie as “the Barbie doll I never had. I’d never seen anybody so glamorous” (Waters). Regina, however, is dissatisfied with her body image throughout the movie, constantly dieting, and confiding to her friends that she “really wants to lose three pounds” (Waters). Regina certainly presents an image that is “loveable” though, if her lovability is to be judged by her amount of admirers. In one scene a montage of Wannabes reflecting on Regina’s popularity is shown. Regina is treated much like a celebrity in the context of Girl World:
- Regina George is flawless.
- She has two Fendi purses and a silver Lexus.
- I hear her hair's insured for $10,000.
- I hear she does car commercials. In Japan.
- Her favorite movie is Varsity Blues.
- One time, she met John Stamos on a plane. And he told her she was pretty.
- One time, she punched me in the face. It was awesome.
- She always looks fierce. She always wins Spring Fling Queen. (Waters)
The Wannabes presented are in awe of Regina’s “flawless” appearance, her lavish lifestyle, and her pseudo-fame. The Wannabes’ reflections on Regina are exactly the kind required for a narcissist to flourish. Cady considers, “The weird thing about hanging out with Regina was that I could hate her, and at the same time, I still wanted her to like me...Because being with The Plastics was like being famous. People looked at you all the time, and everybody just knew stuff about you” (Waters). Cady shows here that the desire to be part of the Plastic clique is driven purely by narcissistic intention - being with the Plastics allows a girl’s illusory self-esteem to be affirmed in the admiration of “Wannabe peers.” This begs the question as to why Wannabes cling to these narcissistic queen bees. Tina Fey, author of the Mean Girls screenplay, responds in a New York Times interview that “Some people confuse meanness for passion” (Senior 11). Fey implies here that Wannabes look to Queen Bees like Regina and see, instead of a cruel and ultimately insecure narcissist, a motivated and well-dressed young woman. Damian continues in his description of the Plastics that “If North Shore was US Weekly, they would always be on the cover” (Waters). Here a clear connection is drawn between the narcissistic Plastics and celebrities. Studies observe the narcissistic nature of celebrities as well, just as with teenage girls like Regina George and the Plastics. In a 2004 USA Today article, Karen Thomas criticizes Britney Spears for telling fans that “she’s taking a break because she’s tired of paparazzi attention” and subsequently writing on the wall of a Hollywood shop “Britney Spears woz here!! With her hubby Kevin Federline, who is the sexiest man alive!” which Thomas claims was “ensuring that the photo would show up everywhere” (Thomas 01d). Dr. Sam Vankin states in the article that many celebrities are “addicted to getting feedback from other people, but they resent depending on it” (Thomas 01d). Celebrities, such as Spears, are addicted to “other peoples’ impressions” of who they are. This is a narcissistic addiction to fame. Thus celebrities are narcissistic by nature of their existence, which is sadly mirrored by the impressionable teens in Girl World. Society’s problem is not necessarily the narcissism, but the fact that the social hierarchy that flocks to narcissists and depends on their affections creates a gigantic culture of Wannabes with low self-esteem.
The Wannabes of society project their individual insecurities, hopes, and dreams onto the narcissistic Queen Bees, valuing a sense of intimacy with the narcissists. As Cady becomes obsessed with the notion of becoming the Queen Bee she notes in an inner monolouge, “I was a woman possessed. I spent about 95 percent of my time talking about Regina. And the other 5 percent of the time, I was praying for someone else to bring her up so I could talk about her more…I could hear people getting bored with me. But I couldn't stop. It just kept coming up like word vomit” (Waters). Cady, like many Wannabes in society, is projecting her desire to be a Queen Bee into “word vomit,” or socially aggressive gossip, about Regina. Psychologist Ann Garland describes this type of projection as “a defense mechanism involving the expulsion of unwanted or unbearable parts of the personality, which are then located in others and thereby disowned” (177). Projection often causes conflicts within relationships, and “may underlie extreme feelings towards others such as idealization, worship, prejudice, hatred and envy” ultimately leading to an “excessive dependency on others” (178). Describing herself as a “woman possessed,” Cady clearly is excessively dependent on Regina. Likewise, the ubiquity of Queen Bees in society and the need of Wannabes to project their hopes, dreams and insecurities onto celebrities makes sever implications about human nature. With media such as People and US Weekly magazines marketing celebrity gossip at consumers, it is obvious that the Wannabes of society crave a sense of intimacy with their Queen (and King) Bees by staying up to date on their personal lives. According to Heachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (producer of Elle magazine), the October 2005 issue of Elle, featuring photographs of and an interview with Britney Spears during her pregnancy, produced had the “best October single-copy sales” (“PRE-PARTUM…”). Pregnancy is a universal condition for female humans, and the public, craving intimacy with Spears, had an insatiable desire to see the Queen Bee in such an accessibly human state. In addition, women having the desire to be pregnant project their hopes and dreams onto Spears to support her in the times just as she became a mother, for the issue hit newsstands just before her September 15th delivery. In addition, these magazines work to humanize celebrities by tearing the Queen Bees down to human level through unflattering candid photographs, or criticizing their outfits and lifestyles. This humanizes the Queen Bees for the Wannabes further to create a greater sense of intimacy between the celebrity and the consumer. This sense of intimacy with the Queen Bee makes the Wannabe feel empowered, and thus brings about a self esteem boost. The problem lies when the need for intimacy turns to social aggression, with the spreading of gossip and making of cruel remarks intended to humanize the Queen Bees.
The socially aggressive use of gossip as a means to obtain a goal runs constant throughout Girl World and American celebrity-obsessed society. The Plastics in Mean Girls create a “burn book,” consisting of pictures of other females in the grade cut out and pasted from the yearbook with a piece of slanderous gossip written beneath. Professors Emilio Ulloa and Monica Ulibarri explain the social aggression by arguing that, “because girls are not encouraged to express their anger and frustration toward socially imposed gender inequalities, they are forced to take out their aggression on safer targets (i.e., other girls)” (Ulloa 415). These “burns,” or degrading gossip, include claims such as “Dawn Schweitzer is a fat virgin,” “Amber D'Alessio. She made out with a hot dog,” to things as offensive as “Jannis Ian, dyke.” The burn book provides a place for The Plastics to channel their social aggression into a physical entity. In addition, the gossip bank insures the Plastics’ social status - if any Wannabe was to threaten the social status of a Plastic, the Burn Book contains an awful piece of gossip about every Wannabe that could be used in a socially aggressive manner. It is no wonder that Janis Ian describes Regina as a “Life ruiner.” Celebrities, however, do not have this luxury, for there is no conceivable way for a celebrity to dig up dirt on each and every one of society’s millions of Wannabes. Marion Underwood, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas, defines social aggression as action that is “directed toward harming another’s self-esteem, social status, or both, and may take such direct forms as verbal rejection, negative facial expression or body movements, or more indirect forms such as slanderous rumors or social exclusion” (Horn 315). The “slanderous rumors” of the latter part of Underwood’s definition are the socially aggressive rumors entailed in gossip that work to demean Queen Bees and bring Wannabes a sense of power. Wiseman again, “…in Girl World [nasty gossip] is currency…it’s like: Ooh, I have a dollar and now I’m more powerful and I can use this if I want to. I can further myself in the social hierarchy and bond with the girl being gossiped about…by telling [another person] about the gossip and then delivering the proof” (Talbot 24). If each piece of gossip in the burn book was worth a dollar, the book would be invaluable, as the entire high school girl populous engages in an all out jungle-battle over the gossip contained in the book - their social aggression transcending to physical aggression. In American society as a whole, adults are not encouraged “to express their anger and frustration toward” failed dreams of success and insecurities with body image, for images of success and flawless body image embodied by celebrities are what society strives for, and to be a Wannabe brings about a sense of shame. In more concise terms, society teaches us to be ashamed of who we are and who we want to be. The adults in current society therefore take out their aggression by displacing it on the “safer target” of celebrities. In the attempt to target the Queen Bees of society for seeming to have achieved their hopes and dreams and being secure in their body images the “Wannabes” of society have their own burn books, available on newsstands and in supermarket checkout lines everywhere with titles like People and US Weekly. Using gossip as “currency” in the search for intimacy, this genre of media creates a sense of social aggression, searching for the latest hot gossip on celebrities with no sense of tact or consideration for the emotions of those involved in the gossip. These publications are not to blame though, magazines like Star sell so many copies that they can afford to print stories in malice and lose lawsuits, because sensationalist headlines will still sell more copies. The Wannabes of American society pay these publications to feed them gossip for a quick fix of social aggression high - a small self-esteem boost in the humanization of these glamorous and successful Queen Bees. In this increasingly distant electronic world however, intimacy is not attained through this social aggression; instead the cycle of the Wannabe’s continued dissatisfaction with their quality of life and the Queen Bee’s annoyance at the dual nature of being admired and hated is perpetrated.
Cady Heron, when accepting the title of “Spring Fling Queen,” symbolically breaks her plastic crown and gives the pieces of it away, declaring everyone in the room a “partial Spring Fling Queen” (Waters). It took the snapping of Regina’s spine in the bus accident to cause the snapping of the social order that led to Cady realizing that there is more to life than the rigid ideals of Girl World. This begs the question, what will it take for society to break from rigid ideals of celebrity-obsessed culture? In the final scenes of the film, Cady narrates “In case you're wondering, The Plastics broke up. Regina's spine healed, and her physical therapist taught her to channel all her rage into sports. It was perfect because the jock girls weren't afraid of her.” Cady continues that “Girl World was finally at peace,” for the Queen Bees had stepped down from their proverbial thrown and the social hierarchy had been leveled (Waters). American society promotes narcissistic individuals, raising them to the top of society and also creates dissatisfied individuals who become obsessed with obtaining a sense of intimacy with these Queen Bees or with tearing them down through social aggression, both as a method of expressing their insecurities. This cycle is dangerous and unhealthy and requires change, just as was required in Mean Girls - the playing field must be leveled. The power to discontinue with the American system of hierarchies is within the Wannabes, who need to stop projecting their dissatisfactions with life onto celebrities and actually work to become who the people they want to be. Otherwise, this dangerous social aggression displayed prominently in the media will continue to infect Girl World, causing misery for the impressionable teenage girls in American society. Narcissistic hierarchies are not “fetch” at all, and just as Gretchen needed to stop trying to make “fetch” happen in Mean Girls, Americans need to make change in society’s structure happen for the benefit of generations to come.
Works Cited
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Wiseman, Rosalind. Queen Bees & Wannabes. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002.