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In some cases, girls who call other girls sluts aren’t implying that their targets are sexually promiscuous; rather, the bullies are critiquing the sexual and gender identity of the bullied. Cornell University’s Ritch Savin-Williams said,
Recent research is showing that it’s not their sexuality that’s getting them bullied, but their gender expressions. It’s that they transgress those gender roles that we have established. … It’s not like they’re saying, ‘Oh, you’re having sex with another girl.’ That’s not what they’re picking up on. What they’re picking up on is, ‘You’re not acting like a girl is supposed to act.
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