Seems like this is a hot topic on both sides of the Atlantic.
Saw this in today's Metro (free London morning paper)
Bridge plunge girl 'bullied for being pretty'
Friday, July 17, 2009, 09:59
THE mother of a 15-year-old who fell to her death from a bridge has described how she was tortured by school bullies "because she was pretty" and that a split with her boyfriend might have been the "final straw".
Simone Grice plunged from the bridge over the A30, just around the corner from her home in Illogan, near Redruth, Cornwall, on Monday night.
She was said to be clinging to her mobile phone and a toy doll she had had since she was a toddler.
Her mother, Linda, 45, said her daughter had recently been removed from school after years of abuse by bullies jealous of her good looks. She said the verbal and sometimes physical assaults left her daughter emotionally fragile.
Simone had recently found a boyfriend, her mother added, but was devastated when the relationship ended.
"She was the victim of extreme bullying at school," said the mother-of-three, who lives in Mennaye Gardens, Illogan.
"She was always targeted and it was very intense. They were always looking to beat her up.
"They would spit at her, throw stones at her and call her names. She became very emotional, very fragile.
"We called the school and, eventually, the police many times but it still carried on – incident after incident.
"The school tried to help but it continued for years and, eventually, I had to take her out of school and she was being home-tutored.
"She was a beautiful girl and other girls sometimes have a problem with that. She was picked on because she was pretty.
"But she wasn't just pretty – she was clever and a really nice person. But she was shy and the bullies took advantage of that."
She described seeing her daughter in the afternoon and was aware that something had clearly upset her.
"Something had happened and she was particularly distressed and emotionally distraught.
"She went out without me even realising. She had her whole life ahead of her."
She said that her daughter had got herself a boyfriend but it had ended and that might have been the "final straw".
Simone's body was found at the bottom of the Broad Lane flyover which crosses the A30 at Illogan, not far from her home.
She was found at around 11pm on Monday and police are investigating the circumstances of her death.
Shocked residents have described how they heard voices in the night pleading "Don't do it".
Simone's brother Elliott, 17, and sister Tara, 12, are being comforted by the family.
An inquest is expected to be opened and adjourned today.
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And, from a londonpaper earlier this week (A column is written by a reader each day):
Akua Amoako says sisters don’t stick together...
> thelondonpaper columnist at 14/7/2009 10:47 AM BST
A question that I will put to the ladies: have you ever been on the receiving end of an icy stare from a female, or have you even given one?
Songs about “girl power” appear to be redundant in the real world. It seems that the only appreciation we women get is from men. For example, I have regularly witnessed the reaction when a pretty woman boards the Tube. All of a sudden the other females go into critical mode and start eyeing up their “competition”. Some even snicker or make catty comments to their friends.
Even worse, you will find that the less secure women hold on to their men for dear life – like they have just been thrown off the Titanic together.
What strikes me as peculiar is women have no *problem appreciating female celebrities (“Oh my gosh, that Keira Knightley is stunning”, “I’d kill for an a*** like J-Lo’s”,etc.). However, when the woman is in front of us, admiration *becomes pure jealousy. (“Who does she think she is? Talk about stuck up...”).
Is it a myth that “sisters stick together”? We have all read those kiss-and-tell stories – the mistresses blame the wives for not looking after their men. We’ve watched those trashy TV shows in which two women beat the living daylights out of each other, while the cheating man just sits there, smiling like a Cheshire cat.
It seems that the only time women are comfortable in the presence of other women is when the other women are less attractive than themselves. How sad.
It can be ever so slightly depressing when you feel that you look a million dollars and turn to see a woman who reduces you to a couple of pence, or if your husband or boyfriend has the sudden urge to leer at a leggy blonde.
But, I say, instead of girl power just being another shameless marketing ploy, let’s put it into action. Next time your man decides to have a peek, you should – *instead of wishing bad things on your fellow “sister” – take a deep breath and think about the features that have led him to “window shop”. You should appreciate them. You could even use them as a basis for self-*improvement. After all, why give other women the *satisfaction of knowing that they look better than you?
Akua, 27, is from London