This past weekend, GoGirlGo! Seattle and the City of Redmond hosted a viewing of the documentary and movement called “Finding Kind.”

This is a powerful movie on the effects of bullying and/or meanness is girl world. Originally, only one viewing was scheduled at 2:30, but that event sold out very quickly. Another viewing was added at 5:15 and also sold out. Overall, 200-plus people attended this event. GoGirlGo! Seattle and the City of Redmond agreed that they would add additional screenings to their calendars.

The young girls who attended this event were quite moved. Elementary and junior high girls shared their experiences of bullying and meanness, many with tears in their eyes. One girl cried about the bullying that her little sister is enduring. Another cried because of the lack of real emotion girls seem to show to one another. One mom discussed how bullying she experienced as young girl has led her to avoid true relationships with women around her to avoid getting hurt once again.

Unlike physical bullying, meanness in girl world is difficult to deal with in the academic setting. Does the school have the right to punish someone for gossiping? Can they recognize the mean stares that girls give each other and administer a consequence? As parents we feel helpless to deal with the meanness in girl world. We all agreed that school personnel probably feel the same way.

We as a community agreed that this meanness in the girl world must be dealt with to create a healthy environment for the young girls in our society.  This change starts with girls and women pleading to be kind to one another. This doesn’t mean that we have to like everyone or have to be all smiles.  This just means, as Thumper from Bambi so eloquently stated, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

Sheri Gazitt, GoGirlGo! Seattle director