Arts • Homemade Soups & Salads Author Rachel Simmons examines a hidden culture of aggression. • Omelettes • Daily Lunch & Dinner Specials RONELLE GRIER Special to the Jewish News • Homemade Sandwiches A vet 64,4 Co4wenie4d ..eacatio#ti Detroit 154 S. Woodward Ave. Bloomfield Twit 6527 Telegraph Rd. Canton 1735 Canton Center Rd. Ann Arbor Farmington Hills Taylor Livonia Livonia Millennium Park (Middlebelt & 1-96) Laurel Park Mall (37622 6 Mile Rd.) West Bloomfield Plymouth 30985 Orchard Lake Rd. (between 13 & 14 Mile Rd.) Birmingham 4763 Haggerty Rd. (Pontiac Trail & Haggerty Rd.) 3999 Center Point Parkway Dearborn Heights 26540 Ford Rd. (The Heights Plaza) 841 E. Big Beaver . 37580 W. !2. Mile Rd. (Halstead Village) 15131 Sheldon Rd. (Sheldon at 5 Mile Rd.) 15647 W. 9 Mile at Greenfield Rd. Novi Troy Farmington Hills 9845 Telegraph Rd. Southfield Pontiac 1235 S. University 47830 Grand River Ave. (Grand River & Beck Rd.) Milford 512 N. Main Hercules Family Restaurant 33292 W. 12. Mile Rd. • Farmington Hills r 1 1 1 1. I % TOTAL BILL OFF With This Coupon Expires 11/30/02. Not good with any other offers. .... .............. THE ORIGINAL VOTED BEST GREEK RESTAURANT BY METRO DETROIT! • PRIVATE PARTIES FOR 55 IN OUR DINING ROOM •PARTY TRAYS •ALL MENU ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR CARRY OUT •GREEK & AMERICAN CUISINE •CHEF'S SPECIALS DAILY y 0 OFF FOOD TOTAL BILL •FULL BAR 1 1 Expires 11/30/02. 1 1 1 coupon per table. I I Not good with any other offers. _ .... %TN 11/8 2002 86 430 I Orchard Lake Road • West Bloomfield • Crosswinds Plaza 248-538-6000 On The Bookshelf `Odd Girl Out' • Coney Specials • Greek Specialties Comerica Park Stadium ter t ai ment FAX: 248-538-0932 647880 ny woman who remembers being singled out as a scapegoat or ostra- cized by the "popu- lar" girls will identify with and appreciate Odd Girl Out — The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls (Harcourt; $25) by first-time author Rachel Simmons. Simmons explores the ways in which girls express their hostility through backbiting, exclusion and manipula- tion instead of the direct physical and verbal behavior that is more common among boys. "Within the hidden culture of aggression, girls fight with body language and relationships instead of fists and knives," Simmons writes. "In this world, friendship is a weapon, and the sting of a shout pales in comparison to a day of someone's silence. There is no gesture more devastating than the back turning away." Simmons' inspiration to write k, this book came from her own childhood memories of being vic- timized by a friend-turned-bully and her clique of followers. When she began to research the topic, Simmons discovered that most women had similar experiences, and that the after-effects were far- reaching and long lasting. Odd Girl Out is filled with stories drawn from group and individual interviews with girls between the ages of 10 and 14 — and their parents — . from a variety of cultural and econom- ic backgrounds throughout the United States. "My assumption was not that the girls ought not to be mean, but that they were; not 'that they should be nice, but that they weren't. I was there not to stop them, but because I want- ed them to help other girls find a way to deal with it," Simmons writes in her introduction. In addition, she includes the per- spective of many adult women whose early years were marked by the pain of victimization at the hands of their peers as well as the perpetrators of this particular form of cruelty. In the final chapters, "Parents and Teachers" and "The Road Ahead," Simmons offers strategies for parents, teachers and counselors to help their daughters and students counteract these insidious forms of aggression. She provides sam- ple conversations for parents to have with their daughters, both bullies and victims, and how to intervene effectively, if necessary. She recommends the adoption of "anti-bullying" policies within schools, including training for school employ- ees and specific consequences for unacceptable behaviors. THE HIDDEN CULTURE OF AGGRESSION IN C'=t',..• The purpose and importance of this book is best summed up by Simmons when she writes, "Nearly every woman and girl has a story. It is time to break the silence." Simmons began exploring the topic of female bullying at Oxford University in England, where she was a Rhodes scholar. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is a national trainer for the Ophelia Project; a men- toring and advocacy program for teenage girls. [11 - . Rachel Simmons speaks 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Jewish Community Center in Oak Park and 6:30 p.m. that same night at the JCC in West Bloomfield.