The evolutionary roots of Mean Girls

Cattiness, bitchiness, and gossiping may serve an evolutionary purpose among women. But does it have to be the norm?

Blame it on Darwin.
(Image credit: (Facebook.com/MeanGirls))

It turns out the cunning, gossiping, and slut-shaming ways of Regina George may be rooted in thousands of years of evolution.

Some scientists are claiming that adolescent women who express the intra-female competition so keenly documented in Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabees and Mean Girls come by it honestly. Or at least evolutionarily.

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Emily Shire is chief researcher for The Week magazine. She has written about pop culture, religion, and women and gender issues at publications including Slate, The Forward, and Jewcy.