Everybody tells me that girls are meaner than boys. It makes sense. The truly meanest people that I've met are girls who have cut me down with a withering look, an eye roll, and a whisper about my shabby clothes.

Last week, an op-ed article argued that the notion of mean girls was a big myth. The rate of violence and felonies by girls has gone down in recent years, just as the media is saying that technology has given girls new tools for meanness.

Of course, the authors of the article miss the point. Truly mean girls aren't violent. They aren't beating up the weak girls in dusty baseball fields after school. They simply text the geeky girls and let them know that they are ugly and boring. They don't get caught. 

My sister recommends Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World.

UPDATE: Melissa Summers talks about a new book on mean girls and discusses her own interactions with mean bloggers.