This book investigates the reasons why the traditional psychological understanding of bullying
fails those affected and deconstructs how bullying is shaped by prominent discourse. By
drawing on poststructuralist feminist theory Victoria Rawlings highlights the social and
cultural inequalities too often forgotten in analysis of aggressive behaviour in schools and
places particular emphasis on gender and sexuality as facilitating and constraining forces
within school environments and bullying discourses. This book provides a necessary assessment
as to why current anti-bullying approaches are failing and offers an alternative explanation
as to how and why bullying occurs.This is a timely and authoritative study which is based on
qualitative research including interviews and group sessions which are used to emphasize the
real-life experiences of young people in schools today. Interdisciplinary in nature this book
has a broad appeal and will be of special interest to scholars in the fields of gender and
sexuality studies sociology and education.
