Bullying is difficult to define because it can involve so many things. Any subject or person is fair game for someone who bullies. Maybe you've just gotten braces. At first, your friends teased you a little bit; you figured that would happen. There's one guy at school, though, who takes the teasing to a different level. His tone is mean and hurtful and it's all he ever mentions when you're around. Taunting or teasing like that is a form of bullying.

It doesn't have to be braces; a bully might target anything about you that is different. Maybe you're the tallest girl in your class or you're from an Orthodox Jewish home. Maybe you're Asian-American or you like to write poetry. And bullying can be done in countless ways: teasing, taunting, ethnic slurs, and sexual harassment are all forms of bullying. What they share is the power to upset or hurt the people who are being targeted.

Bullying can be physical, too. Maybe each time this guy sees you in the hall he intentionally walks into you and then blames you for being in his way. Or you might accidentally knock your books off your desk, only to have him accuse you of trying to trip him. What's even worse is that the bully isn't always just one person; sometimes a whole group singles you out and tries to taunt or hurt you. It can be really scary.

Reviewed by: Steve Dowshen, MD, and Jennifer Shroff Pendley, PhD
Date reviewed: March 2001