The Clique Effect

HOW PORTRAYALS OF UNHEALTHY FRIENDSHIPS DISTORT OUR PERCEPTIONS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

Written by Abigail Crneckiy, Contributing Writer Graphic by Emma Gray, Arts Curator

The word “clique” has a negative connotation, and in many cases, the stigma is warranted. If you grew up with American pop culture, you’re probably familiar with the stories of the mean girl clique and the less popular girl. We see examples of toxic social groups everywhere, most notably with the Plastics in “Mean Girls,” and with the Pretty Committee in popular book series “The Clique” by Lisi Harrison. These narratives give young women unhealthy stereotypes about what friendship and socialization should look like.

One important aspect of a clique is the necessity for members to prove themselves worthy. In pop culture depictions like “Mean Girls” and “The Clique,” these qualifications are often based on appearance and wealth. Between dress codes, grooming requirements and codes of conduct, many of these requirements are either hindered or promoted by the family’s economic status. However, cliques aren’t always about appearance or money. Membership can also be based on various behavioral and performative requirements.

There are cliques for every social group, including jocks, brainiacs, musicians, stoners, etc., all of which are dependent on some type of performance. To fit in, you must be good at your sport and workout often, get good grades and participate in academic competitions, have a high chair rank and practice endlessly; the list goes on and on.

Cliques can and do form anywhere, but Stanford researchers have found that larger schools with more elective choice “accentuate the quest by adolescents for friends who are similar to themselves, an instinct that sociologists call ‘homophily.’”1 Due to the expansive friend group options, class options and extracurricular options, students naturally sort by interest while also clustering by race, gender, age and socioeconomic status as the freedom and uncertainty causes them to cling to those that feel familiar.

All of these social restrictions and hierarchies, coupled with the need and desire to belong to a group, are harmful to students. In an NPR

1 E. L. Andrews, “Stanford Researcher Explores Why Cliques Thrive in Some High Schools More than Others,” Stanford University, Nov. 6, 2014. reporting project called “The Secret Lives of Students,” middle school students discuss how the stress of belonging and proving themselves to their peers makes it difficult to concentrate in school and perform well academically.2 Whether your peer group has clear expectations or not, the preoccupation with always wondering if you are good enough is a major hindrance for learning, and Western pop culture representations only intensify these feelings.

Speaking from experience, I read “The Clique” series when I was in middle school. In the books, the Pretty Committee requires that their initiate Claire shaves her legs every other day, and they check by using a q-tip to see if the cotton catches on any hair.3 This expectation invaded my pre-teen mind and I became mortified at the thought of having hairy legs. Even though I could see that other girls didn’t shave their legs as frequently and still maintained their social standing, for years I could not release the fictional expectation that had consumed me. This experience could not have been unique to me.

Cliques are harmful, but this doesn’t mean that all friend groups are. So what makes a clique different from a regular group of friends? A clique includes clear or purposeful exclusivity and often a code of membership — spoken or unspoken — that hinges on behavior, appearance or performance of some kind.4 Cliques don’t only occur in middle school and high school either, but follow us all throughout our adult lives.

As we gravitate toward those we identify with, it is important to be mindful of possibilities for harmful exclusion, choosing instead to purposefully welcome others in. We must avoid romanticizing the exclusivity exhibited in pop culture and instead share stories and practice positive friendship by building off of our commonalities with others. In the process, we can create stronger bonds and an actual sense of accountability, and avoid “plastic” identities and unrealistic expectations. ■

2 S. Gonzalez, “The Secret Lives of Students: How Cliques Make It Hard to Concentrate in Class,” StateImpact Florida, July 12, 2012. 3 L. Harrison, The Clique, Little, Brown and Company, 2004 4 K. Hoffses (Reviewed), “Coping With Cliques (for Teens),” Nemours KidsHealth, July 2018.