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Homecoming Queen finalists in 2014 appear before the audience. The "queen" is an elected senior leadership role for American high school and university students in their final year of study.
Aqueen bee is awoman who dominates or leads a group,[1] is in a favoured position[2] or behaves as such.[3] The term has been applied in several social settings, including business and education. It has also become astock character or the basis of fictional characters in novels, film, television and other media.
In a business environment, "queen bee" may refer to a woman in upper management who advanced in the ranks without any help of any type ofaffirmative action programs. They often see other, usually younger, women as competitors and will refuse to help them advance within a company, preferring to mentor a male over a female employee. Some such "queen bees" may actively take steps to hinder another woman's advancement as they are seen as direct competitors.[4] Such tactics are sometimes referred to asheterophily (in the sense of positive preference and favoritism for opposite-sex colleagues) or thequeen bee syndrome.[5]
The termloophole woman, coined byCaroline Bird in her bookBorn Female: The High Cost of Keeping Women Down (1968), has a similar meaning. Marie Mullaney defines the loophole woman as one who, "successful in a male-dominated field such as law, business administration, or medicine, is opposed to other women's attaining similar levels of professional success. Such professional success, if attained by women on a large scale, would detract from, if not substantially reduce, her own status and importance."[6]
Queen bees may wield substantial influence, popularity, and power over their cliques and are consideredrole models by clique members and outsiders. Her actions are closely followed and imitated.[9] Sussana Stern identifies the following qualities as characteristic of queen bees:[10]
Possessing an inflatedego, an exaggerated sense of self-aggrandizement, and an overly-heightened sense ofself-esteem, which may lead toarrogance andsnobbery.
Kathryn Merteuil from the 1999 filmCruel Intentions played bySarah Michelle Gellar; a wealthy, cold-hearted andcocaine-using manipulator from the eliteUpper East Side of New York. Kathryn hides her true malevolent nature beneath a wholesome facade ofCatholicism, propriety and compassion, fooling her peers and teachers into believing she is a model student and an image of perfection when she is really an expert in deceit and cruelty, and uses and humiliates others for her own pleasure.
Regina George in the 2004 filmMean Girls, played byRachel McAdams. The wealthy, beautiful, and popular queen bee of Northshore High school, who rules over the Plastics, an exclusive clique of wealthy and beautiful girls.
Courtney Shayne in the 1999 filmJawbreaker, played byRose McGowan. The sociopathic Courtney murders her rival, Elizabeth Purr (Charlotte Ayanna) at the beginning of the film, and goes to extreme lengths to cover up the murder and maintain her popularity by tarnishing the reputation of her victim, by spreading lies that Elizabeth was a rebellious, promiscuous girl who was murdered by aone-night stand.
Emma Woodhouse, the titular protagonist from Jane Austen's novelEmma and its film and television adaptations could be considered to be an early example of the "queen bee" stereotype. Emma is the beautiful and intelligent daughter of a wealthylanded gentry family, and is genuinely well-liked and popular amongst the people of the village of Highbury, where she lives. Although she is kind and genuinely well-meaning, Emma has a tendency to be selfish and meddlesome, constantly interfering in the lives of those around her, especially their romantic relationships, believing her judgement to be infallible. Gradually throughout the novel, she is considerably humbled, and she accepts that she must improve her attitude and become less self-centred and interfering. Her rival, Mrs Augusta Elton, the village vicar's wife, follows the queen bee character more closely, being vain and obnoxious, and constantly competes with Emma for status in the community.
TV series
Rachel Green, from the sitcomFriends, played byJennifer Aniston. Throughout the series, Rachel was constantly described as the most popular girl in Lincoln High School, being the head cheerleader, Prom Queen and class president. However, despite her close friendship with the overweight, awkwardMonica Geller (Courteney Cox), Rachel was also revealed to be somewhat spiteful towards some of her less popular classmates and even toward Monica's older brother,Ross Geller (David Schwimmer).
Alison DiLaurentis, played bySasha Pieterse, is one of the main characters ofPretty Little Liars. , was the 'it girl' and the 'queen bee' of Rosewood. Her tight-knit group consisted of her closest friends. Alison was described as beautiful, manipulative, reserved, and vengeful. She could make people feel special, which made them dependent on her because they wanted to continue feeling that way.
Hanna Marin, played byAshley Benson, is one of the main characters ofPretty Little Liars. She became the new 'queen bee' of Rosewood after Alison DiLaurentis disappeared, transforming from the insecure 'Hefty Hanna' into the popular and glamorous girl at school.
Blair Waldorf is a main character in theGossip Girl is portrayed byLeighton Meester. She was the ultimate queen bee of Constance Billard, her reign marked by tiaras, intrigues, and a sense of style that no one could match. Blair not only ruled the school hallways, she also set the social rules of the Upper East Side.
Jenny Humphrey, played by Taylor Momsen inGossip Girl, she managed to climb the ranks until she became the new Queen B of the school, inheriting Blair Waldorf's 'crown.' Jenny set rules, controlled rumors, and surrounded herself with followers, but her style was more aggressive and daring. Her reign was short-lived and ended in scandals, betrayals, and decisions that pushed her away from the Upper East Side.
Cheryl Blossom, portrayed byMadelaine Petsch inRiverdale, she is the modern archetype of the Queen Bee: powerful, glamorous, and feared in the halls of Riverdale High. She was the captain of the River Vixens, the cheerleading team, from where she exercised her authority like a queen bee. Sarcastic, manipulative, and quick-witted, but also vulnerable and shaped by family traumas.
^Stern, Sussana (2001) Sexual Selves on the World Wide Web: Adolescent Girls' Home Pages as Sites for Sexual Self-Expression; Sexual Teens, Sexual Media, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Shearin Karres, Erika V. (2004).Mean Chicks, Cliques, And Dirty Tricks: A Real Girl's Guide to Getting Through the Day with Smarts and Style. Avon, MA:Adams Media.ISBN1580629334.
