Customer Reviews

Mean Girls, Meaner Women: Understanding Why Women Backstab, Betray, and Trash-Talk Each Other and How to Heal

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is absolutely a must-read for every woman of all ages! This book shed so much light on why women degrade, belittle, compete with and betray each other. It was an eye opening experience for me. The book, at first glance, seems to be a manual on how to deal with other women's devious tactics, but that is not the point of the book at all. Through stories and careful dissection of behaviors, interwoven with societal pressures/contributors, the authors detail what we are doing to ourselves (women vs. women) and how it is perpetuated by societal agendas/customs. This book did more to explain the issues between women than any other book I have ever read. I cannot stress enough how important this book is for EVERY woman to read for herself and to read to her daughter, her cousin, her mother, her sister, her friends...

This book is not about how to survive a demon woman or a group of them, this book is about recognizing what we are doing to each other and why and how to break the cycle. I plan on buying several copies for Christmas gifts in an effort to spread the word to all of the fabulous women in my life (sisters, cousin, friends...) about how we can finally end the hurtful competitiveness and act of maliciousness towards each other (women vs. women).

We finally have no excuse not to recognize how our behavior affects other women...some of the findings are absolutely shocking and quite saddening...but there is hope and we don't have to continue putting on a show for the sake of seeming like the best, the sexiest, the whatever superlative you want to insert here...

Rebecca

Thank God somebody finally wrote an honest book about this. I've suffered terribly at the hands of other women all my life but felt guilty about talking about it because I was a Feminist. I didn't know how to conceptualize what had happened to me and secretly hated other women. Reading it was incredibly healing and I'd recommend it to anyone, woman or man, Feminist or not. Our society sets women up as "purity symbols" and discourages them from acting in ways that tarnish their image. This forces women to manipulate and hide their true feelings. I believe the only way forward for people trying to change the world is to deal honestly with human nature, female and male. The truth about what we end up doing to each other in this society is the first step toward change.

As a male, I found this book to be so informative. It not only allows for a better understanding of what the social world of women is like, but also gives a new perspective for anyone, male or female, who has had issues handling interpersonal relationships. A definite must read for anyone interested in gender issues.

This book should be required reading for adolescent girls with the guidance of their mothers or an adult mentor, as well as by women dealing with difficulties with their adult friendships or relationship with co-workers, etc. It truly helped me to understand the 'why'of certain behaviors with a new-found compassion between girls and women in general. It gave me the courage to end an adult frienship in a non-hurtful manner that was not healthy for me. I'd highly recommend this book.

Mean Girls, Meaner Women was such a useful and enlightening read. After experiencing first hand the pain of watching my child go through middle school hurts, this book gave me the knowledge and understanding of why girls, and why women, do what they do. It created such a useful dialogue between my daughter and me. I have since spoken very highly to many other women, helping to explain the pains they too have experienced as a Mom, a friend and even as a girl. A must read, even if you don't have children.

It really is a MUST READ for girls and women of all ages!

As a consultant, educator, and trainer in areas involving diversity, multicultural issues and oppression, this book was a mind-opener. I found the book to be an easy read, yet packed with information that really explains why girls and women hurt each other, and how important it is to break this cycle and change our relationships with each other. The overall message is positive and is one that invites us to be more authentic, first with ourselves and then with each other. The authors highlight better emotional coping strategies and more direct communication with each other as elements that build a strong sense of self and high self-esteem...these elements act as protection against hostile and hurtful behavior before it starts. The "something to think about" questions offered nice prompts for me to consider my own behavior and I know I can use them as conversation starters in the education and consulting work that I do.

I'm inspired and motivated to help stop this vicious cycle. WE need to make a real commitment to connecting with all the women in our lives in a much more caring and compassionate manner. MAKE SURE WOMEN IN YOUR LIFE HAVE A COPY OF THIS BOOK!

If you want a greater understanding as to why women treat other women as harshly as they do, you MUST READ this book!

The authors sounded like they had good professional credentials but this was definitely a lightweight work. It was superficial, although it did contain some useful terms and references to other people's work, that you could presumably look up to get a more informative analysis. If you were doubting that adult mean girl bullying exists, this book would no doubt be a revelation. If you already know, then this book is shallow survey full of thumbnail sketches, vignettes and only scattered professional terminology here and there. The book had a definite advice-column feel. Psychology for girly-girl airheads by girly-girl airheads?

Although they describe the phenomenon adequately, there is a lack of professional depth to the subject and something of a girlfriend chat feel. The result is muddled, shallow and doesn't come together.

Honestly, what comes across is that the author(s) has (have) been mean girl bulled and wrote a book to try to work through feelings, as a form of self therapy.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and bought this book to assist me with understanding why women oppress one another. I read this book cover to cover in less than 2 days because I was so intrigued by the content. At times, I naturally thought of my own conduct in the world of women and realized that I too, engaged in some of the behaviors that undercut other women simply because of feeling fear and insecurity. I am much more cognizant of my own behavior now because these authors made me aware of the problem, its roots and the unnecessary consequences that only hurt all of us as women. This book is excellent for general public, mental health professionals, and parents who want to socialize their daughters in a way that does not reinforce the way women have been taught to cope, by being mean in a round-about ways. This book is a thorough and strong depiction of self-defeating female behaviors and encourages more effective ways to cope with emotions and resolve conflict. While the content is eye-opening or "sad" as one reviewer wrote, it's necessary to pay attention to for improving our interpersonal and societal status. The fact that the content is alarming is one reason why I precisely rated this book with five stars. If you find the book "sad", that does not make it an average book, it makes it an excellent book because it encourages us to call attention to the deeply embedded socialized ways of behaving and challenges us to grow and make necessary change to improve ourselves and our relationships with other women. Additionally, the book was written in reader-friendly language that makes it perfect for general public readers as well as mental health clinicians. I really believe that every woman should read this book while reflecting on her own behavior and the behaviors of the women around her. I think that every reader should pay close attention on how to be more effective at resolving conflict and promoting authentic and meaningful female relationships. Finally, I'd like to add that the content was very helpful and applicable to nurturing my personal and professional female relationships.

Erika , this book is amazing right to the point on everything .. Best Regards, Varant Majarian [...] author for As a young age