Social Identity Theory In Mean Girls

Introduction Social identification is a very important source of both one’s pride and self-esteem. Because groups give us a sense of social identity and belongingness to the social world, intergroup relations have a huge impact on the actions we engage ourselves in. “We are not born with senses of self. Rather, self arises from interaction with others” (Griffin, 2012). In this paper I will first give a summary of Tajfel and Turner’s Social Identity Theory. Second, I will present a synopsis of the film Mean Girls and how it applies to the Social Identity Theory. Lastly, I will provide my own personal interpretations of the social identity theory in relation to the film Mean Girls.

Summary of the Theory

Tajfel and Turner first developed the

Cady has never really had to question her identity because she was homeschooled. She goes through obvious changes after becoming apart of her new group. She insists on working hard to please and be accepted by her intragroup. “Because being with the plastics was like being famous,” Cady thought to herself. Throughout the film Cady has a tussle with her own social identity. She becomes torn about which identity she wishes to pursue because she is experimenting with so many identities at the same time. She gets caught up in the moment and soon she looses sense of herself. Biological, social, and psychological changes are likely to have a greater impact on girls than boys and play an important role in shaping adolescent girls’ social identity (Souiden & M’saad,

Many of the characters in Mean Girls struggle with finding their identity and belongingness into a certain group. Fitting in is hard. Making new friends, moving to a new place, figuring out where you belong, and discovering who you are—all of these are difficult tasks. The films show how cliques can wreck everyone’s life. The film even shows how conflict often time arises within different socio or cultural groups. Mean Girls may have a strong and meaningful impact on some of its audience for those that are able to relate the movie to real life scenarios. I also feel like the film has so many funny catch phrases such as “boo, you whore” or “you can’t sit with us,” which causes the true lesson of the film to often be overlooked. Mean Girls portrays this idea of a more girl-positive