Things you have been bullied or ridiculed about

[Frenchboat]

My dc is starting school soon and has inherited my wild, curly hair. I'm worried she will be bullied like I was.

Having curls has made me feel ugly and ashamed all my life. I was called names and even had my hair yanked. I was called ugly. All because my hair didn't lie straight. I really hope things have moved on a dc won't go through the same thing.

So I guess I want to know what things you have been picked on about as a child or even now, as these things make you feel
Inferior, things can deeply hurt for years.How did you regain confidence?

Oh lord, what wasn't I bullied for?

Being skinny. Being pale. Being nerdy. Having braces. Having different fashion sense to most. Being "a lesbian" (apparently). My interests outside of school. I was given a hard time for most things.

On the bright side, I am now a skinny, smart, stylish, open-minded 40-year-old with great skin (because I always wore sunscreen), and I generally give zero fucks for other people's opinions.

Being quiet. Speaking too fast. Blinking (I am short sighted but my parents refused to get my eyes tested as "we've all got excellent eyesight" so spent my entire school life unable to read the board)
Having hand knitted school jumpers.
Not having hand knitted school jumpers.

At 1st comprehensive not having the right bag/shoes/watch - too common. Moved schools and accused of being posh as I didn't have holes in my shoes and spoke 'posh' ie didn't say 'can I lend a pencil?'......

My clothes. We were poor as a young kid and could not afford new clothes so I was dressed from jumble sales.

Being English. I grew up in Wales and was often told to F* off home as us 'English' were taking all the jobs.

Being 'posh'. I had to get a school bus and the kids bullied me for the above. When I stopped sitting with them after months of abuse, they started calling me 'Posh' and 'Queen' as they took me sitting away from them as a sign I felt I was too good for them.

Walking out of school for the last time was one of the best days of my life.

Being 'posh'
Eating with my mouth shut.
Being fat.
Using long words that annoyed my brother.

I was bullied severely for three years because I 'walked like a slag'.

I was teased for,
Having pubic hair in junior school,
Having spots in junior school,
being pale,
having big boobs,
Being English,
Not wearing a bra my Mum didn't allow it until I was 13 my first bra was 32 DD,
Wearing a bra
Being sick in class.

Oh yes being posh. I came from a rough northern town and moved to a rough Welsh town but because I said Grandma not Nain or Nana I was posh

Being 'gay'

Being too intelligent
Wrong trainers (actually super cool)
Wrong music
Same coat and shoes as cool kid meant I was copying her
Being allowed to dye my hair and have a good haircut
Having an older boyfriend
Having a Saturday job and my own money
Going on holiday abroad

Basically everything that made others jealous. Fuckers. I wasn't showy, I just wasn't like them.

Being friends with a girl who apparently once was spotted picking her nose.
Not getting detentions.
Owning things that were green.
Having Clarks shoes.
Having a coat that had a flowery pattern in the lining.
Not liking the Spice Girls.
Liking the Spice Girls.
Doing ballet.
Not being good at sports.
Being good at English.
Not joining in group games at playtime.
Trying to join in group games at playtime.
Being short and chubby.
Eating healthy food.
Having a surname.

A whole host of stupid reasons basically.

Needless to say, Facebook informs me that most of my school bullies have done very little with their lives other than sit and decay in the town they grew up, while I've studied, travelled, and had a successful career.

Wearing glasses
Being posh
Being taller than most of the class
Being useless at sport
Being a 'swot' (only because I hid in the school library)

Being short, being nerdy, being a goth, being posh, being 'a gyppo' (dad is Irish with romani colouring) being a witch (I'm not but my mum was very into eastern philosophy and yoga well before it caught on), being nerdy, for being bi, for one of teachers being my aunt (accused of favouritism etc), for having fat legs, for having big boobs, for not wearing the right shoes because my ridiculously high arches meant they didn't fit, in primary school for being top of the class in everything - went to a slightly posher secondary school where being bright and hard working were seen as good though, for being straight edge when I was a massive stoner...

There's probably more but I've blocked a lot of it out. Primary school wasn't too bad but secondary school was hands down the most traumatic five years of my life and in hindsight I'm pretty sure I was depressed. I definitely contemplated suicide a few times and had set it up but not gone through with it twice. No one irl knows.

I'm ok now though. Still nerdy still short still alternative (but not quite as goth) and have a few great friends who I could rely on for anything, a wonderful partner and a lovely squishy funny ds :) life is good now but the bullying still affects me I think

I was bullied for;
Being posh ( I wasn't)
Not having branded clothes
Being clever and wanting to learn

However the majority of bullies haven't succeeded in life. I met one when I was in my twenties, and I did say a few choice words.

Terrible how so many children are bullied. I really hope it's better now.

Surprised how many were bullied for being gay when they weren't, me too, I had about 5 friends in the whole school because of it and the bullying ranged from name calling to being punched. It didn't even stop when I got my first boyfriend.

I was also bullied terribly because I walk a bit funny, I'm kind of knock kneed and the bullying for that was merciless, I've suffered terrible hip pain from my teenage years until now in my 40's so I'm presuming there's an abnormality somewhere.

Because my mom used to mend our shoes herself (badly) .

Just as an aside, isn't Taylor Swift actually bald? I am sure someone in the know told me this. She wears wigs, apparently. Sorry if that sounds like bullying .

By the way, I would not put up with my kids being bullied, not now. I would homeschool rather than put them through that. I appreciate it is not always possible for people, maybe not even for us, but it is something I would seriously consider in that situation.

For being quiet. For reading books for pleasure. For following my parents advice that if I ignored the bullies they'd leave me alone (fyi parents - that didn't work).

For having parents that were older than average and a brother that was nearly old enough to be my dad.

For having a brother that had mental health problems.

For having no fashion sense.

For being very tall and flat chested - this apparently made me a cross between a man and a woman according to one bully. As I had parents that were indeed a man and a woman even I managed to comment this was a bit dumb. So the bullying intensified because I'd answered back.

For failing my 11+ and going to a secondary modern school (spot the old gimmer). And I now have a degree and a post degree qualification which suggests the 11+ system was not that well equipped in separating the intelligent from the less intelligent. So ner!

Frenchboat my daughter has similar hair. All was fine until year 2 when boys sought her out to shout abuse. She didn't tell me for weeks. When I found out I worked with the school who were drippy about it. So I wrote to all the parents of the boys involved. The head rang me up to tell me off. Some parents cried as they were upset.

It bloody worked though dd never been abused again - the bullies know it's too much hassle.

Bullied for being a Muslim and wearing a headscarf. I had it pulled off from behind a couple of times too which did jack all for my confidence. Lost friends because of it and given an ultimatum that I couldn't be friends unless I removed it. Wish I could forget it but these things never go away. Aah, kids can be cruel..

I have a hair loss condition and was bullied horribly as a teenager for having bald patches.

Big boobs

'Posh' RP accent (when I moved from London to the Midlands aged 10)

Second-hand school uniform as I had an assisted place at a private school

My adolescence was mostly miserable until I went to a separate sixth form college and made actual friends...

By a gang of boys, for 5 years, for being flat chested. Now a natural 32G and a size 8-10, and they are all fat and bald. Ha!

Being studious.
Being a 'paki' (I'm not, but I'm olive complexioned).
Having psoriasis.

being short and broad
having big boobs
not being fast at running
having greasy hair
having spots
not having fashionable clothes
liking heavy metal rather than Kylie etc
being "a slut" (aka having friends who were male)

Having big boobs (jealousy perhaps)?
Being a frigid virgin one year
Being a 'slag' the next year
Being pale
Being short
Having too make freckles
Being poor

Honestly though, if people take a dislike to you, be it jealousy or they think a boy they like fancies you etc, they will use anything under the sun to pick on you about. Bullies themselves come in all shapes and forms, short, tall, fat, thin .... it doesn't matter. One thing I will say though is that confidence is something that bullies tend to steer clear from.

Being fat ( I was underweight and then developed anorexia) and for being ginger

Being ginger, having a pointy nose, being the first to get boobs, being "posh" (as in, my parents owned their home and didn't live in social housing), not wearing make up, not wearing thongs...