“On Wednesdays, we wear pink!”

This is probably one of the most iconic lines from “Mean Girls.” The film is over 20 years old and it still lands.

The 2004 blockbuster is considered one of the most quoted films of all time. In August 2013, the White House tweeted a photo of President Obama‘s dog, Bo, holding a tennis ball and captioning: “Bo, stop trying to make fetch happen.” In March 2019, Hillary Clinton, in a response to Donald Trump, tweeted a GIF with the line “Why are you so obsessed with me?”

Tina Fey based her screenplay on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 non-fiction book, “Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence.”

Wiseman is the co-founder and president of the Empower Program, a non-profit that works to empower children to end violence. She started the program to “address the connection between girls’ friendships and vulnerabilities”, reflecting on her own experiences with catty, mean-spirited classmates and, later, an abusive relationship. 

Her comprehensive book reads as a guide for parents and teachers of teenage girls to help navigate the rough terrain of middle and high school. It examines the brutal world of cliques, popularity, bullies, crushes, gossip and how these can impact your daughter’s friendships, social status and self-esteem now and in the future.

Each chapter tackles different topics: Cliques and Popularity, Nasty Girls, Power Plays, etc. There are sections called What You Can Do To Help, designed to explain and enlighten parents on seeing things from a Girl World perspective. It’s meant to be read in chunks, rather than cover to cover. 

Wiseman includes the Girl World perspective with boxed, short quotes and explanations from teenagers and pre-teens throughout the book. Some share their experiences with peer pressure and dating. Some admit and some deny their role as the Queen Bee and the Wannabe. 

It’s these snapshots of quotes, events, experiences, even hand drawn maps of high school cafeterias that Fey used for the screenplay of “Mean Girls.” Some of it even verbatim. There’s a lot of people out there who were personally victimized by Regina George or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Homeschooled Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, moves from Africa to Illinois and starts her junior year at a real high school. She is befriended by artsy outsiders Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese) and given a hand made map of North Shore High because where you sit at lunch is crucial. She’s then educated on the hierarchy of the Plastics: dimwitted follower Karen (Amanda Seyfried), insecure wannabe Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) and manipulator Queen Bee Regina George (Rachel McAdams).

Cady inadvertently meets the Plastics and thinks Regina seems nice. Janis and Damian assure her that’s not true and persuade Cady to infiltrate the clique and find out the things they do and talk about so they can have a good laugh.

As Cady slowly enters Girl World, complete with sneaky fights, secrets, and three-way call waiting conversations, she starts to enjoy her new popularity. She begins to trust the group and contributes snide remarks to their Burn Book. 

But when Cady is betrayed by Regina over her feelings toward Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett), she sees the evil inside and becomes all-in on sabotaging Regina’s reputation: pretending to be her friend, turning her friends against her, even feeding her high-calorie Kalteen Bars, promising they burn all your carbs. 

Unfortunately, by pretending to be a Plastic, Cady becomes one. Cold, shiny, hard plastic. The very thing she and Janis wanted to destroy. Throughout the film she becomes, as Wiseman defines, all of the roles in the clique: the Torn Bystander, the Target, the Pleaser/Wannabe, the Messenger, the Sidekick and later, the Queen Bee, and even later, the Champion.

Fey brought the social hierarchy of teenage girls to life, using quick, sharp humor. She took an awkward, oftentimes horrific time in a person’s life and made it iconic and classic, perfectly balancing the themes of fitting-in, acceptance and bullying with relatable wit. It’s quick, hilarious and still holds up after twenty-two years. 

Parents and teachers should read the book and have it as that guide because those teen years are rough. It’s insightful but definitely not as fun as the film. And don’t wait until October 3rd.

About the writer

Jen DePeppe never wore army pants and flip flops but will sport pink sneakers on a Wednesday. She also really wants to lose three pounds. She saw “Mean Girls” on Broadway in 2017, but not the film based on the musical.