By IMANI MALITI

Last year, Nyasha Francis, 14, attending the Academy of Mount St. Ursula High School, an all-girls school, was in a school-wide spelling bee. She ultimately won against all her peers from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. When she returned to class, her female teacher exclaimed, “Wow! You’re the top girl in the school.”

But the compliment drew aggression from her friend, a female student who went to the same school. It dragged her down, particularly since the hostility came from a friend she admired.

This ongoing problem often can play out among rivaling female teens, particularly when they become the only competition. Factions form, and anything from academics to image become a lightning rod for arguments.

It is common for young females to stare one another up and down and focus on the exterior: clothes, shoes, and face. It’s one reason why females can see each other as competitors, fighting despite a longtime campaign for unity.

In a Florida State University study led by Jon Maner and James McNulty, researchers found that a majority of women’s testosterone levels, linked to a rise in aggression and competition, increased when they smelled T-shirts recently worn by other females. Just by smelling the scent of another female, women felt as if they had to compete.

At the Academy of Mount St. Ursula High School, according to student Leilani Aviles, going to an all-girls school often breeds competition. After all, it’s the only demographic within the school. “I feel as if certain people are afraid of being seen as the weakest link so they try to make themselves out to be better than what they are, or try to be better than the person next to them. If not, then it becomes about you and your team or you and yourself,” said Leilani, 14.

Some students at AMSU believe that females abandon sisterhood because of the conflict competition creates. In Nyasha’s point of view, same-sex competition is an intricate “tournament” that vies for men’s approval. This can result in aggressive rivalries that do nothing but break an already fragile sisterhood. A common example is a fight between two girls dating the same boy.

“I think that whole ‘Oh he’s my man blah blah blah let’s fight now,’ that’s so petty,” says Nyasha. “You guys are fighting each other for having feelings for him, but the common factor is him. I don’t see you yelling at him and punching him in the face.”

But unlike Nyasha, Leilani believes that the competition is a struggle for women’s approval of one another. By competing, one may get the respect, acceptance, or fondness of a clique, said Leilani.

According to Jasmine Herbert, 15, all females are capable of achieving anything they set their mind to. They should not have to put each other down, to raise themselves up. “Girls fight to be known,” said Jasmine.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.