A queen bee is the leader of a female group, such as a

clique A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popular ...

. The term has been applied in several social settings.

Businesses

In a business environment, "queen bee" may refer to women who are emotionally immature and view other, especially younger, women as competition. They often will refuse to help other women advance within a company by, for example, preferring to mentor a male over a female employee. Some such "queen bees" may actively take steps to hinder another woman's advancement as they are seen as direct competitors. Such tactics are sometimes referred to as

heterophily Heterophily, or ''love of the different'', is the tendency of individuals to collect in diverse groups; it is the opposite of homophily. This phenomenon can be seen in relationships between individuals. As a result, it can be analyzed in the workpl ...

(in the sense of positive preference and favoritism for opposite-sex colleagues) or the

queen bee syndrome Queen bee syndrome is a phenomenon first defined by C. Tavris, G.L. Staines, and T.E. Jayaratne in 1973. “Queen bee” is a derogatory term applied to women who have achieved success in traditionally male-dominated fields. These women often take ...

. The term "loophole woman", coined by Caroline Bird in her book ''Born Female: The High Cost of Keeping Women Down'' (1968), has a similar meaning. Marie Mullaney defines the loophole woman as one who, "successful in a predominantly male field like law, business or medicine, is opposed to other women's attaining similar levels of success. Such success, if attained by women on a large scale, would detract from, if not substantially reduce, her own status and importance." (The term "

honorary male An honorary male or honorary man is a woman who is accorded the status of a man without disrupting the patriarchal status quo. Ancient Egypt Queen Hatshepsut was the first female ruler of ancient Egypt after Sobekneferu to act as a full phara ...

" is related, but does not imply opposition to other women's success).

Schools

A queen bee in a school setting is sometimes referred to as a school diva or school princess. These queen bees are often

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

d in the media as being

beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

tic, manipulative, and

wealth Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...

y, holding positions of high

social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...

, such as being head cheerleader (or being the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of some other, usually an all-girl, sports team), the

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

Prom Queen A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...

(or both). The phenomenon of queen bees is common in

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...

s. Queen bees may wield substantial influence and power over their cliques and are considered

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

s by clique members and outsiders. Her actions are closely followed and imitated. Sussana Stern identifies the following qualities as characteristic of queen bees:Stern, Sussana (2001) Sexual Selves on the World Wide Web: Adolescent Girls' Home Pages as Sites for Sexual Self-Expression; Sexual Teens, Sexual Media, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates *Having overly-heightened

self-esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...

, which may lead to arrogance *Being overly-

aggressive Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...

selfish Selfishness is being concerned excessively or exclusively, for oneself or one's own advantage, pleasure, or welfare, regardless of others. Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness; and has also been contrasted (as by C. S. Lewis) w ...

, manipulative and confident *Behaving as a bully or

sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

*Being

y and/or spoiled *Being

pretty Pretty may refer to: *Beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is t ...

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

, talented,

y, or privileged *Being envied/hated/admired by

peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...

(mainly female peers) Fictional portrayals of queen bees in schools, from four different

decade A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

s, include the films ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...

'' (1989), '' Jawbreaker'' (1999), ''

Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried (in her film debut), Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler and Fe ...

'' (2004) and "

The DUFF ''The DUFF'' (teen slang for "Designated Ugly Fat Friend") is a 2015 American high school teen comedy film directed by Ari Sandel. The screenplay by Josh Cagan was based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Kody Keplinger. The film stars Mae ...

" (2015). The third film was partially adapted from the nonfiction book ''

Queen Bees and Wannabes ''Queen Bees and Wannabes'' is a 2002 book for parents by Rosalind Wiseman. It focuses on the ways in which girls in high schools form cliques, and on patterns of aggressive teenage girl behavior and how to deal with them. The book was, in larg ...

''. The television series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'' is highlighted for its portrayal of

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Descri ...

as a queen bee, as she has a league of minions for friends and is frequently referred to as 'Queen B' by her peers. Another television series ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'' is also highlighted for its portrayal of

Alison DiLaurentis Alison Lauren DiLaurentis is a fictional character in the ''Pretty Little Liars'' book series, its television adaptation, and the spin-off series '' Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists''. The character was created by American author Sara She ...

as queen bee, as she has a clique, seems to be bossy and mean to people who are not her friends, and everyone treats her as a queen. She is sometimes referred to as 'Queen Ali'.

Quinn Fabray Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the TV series '' Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron, and has appeared in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. She is the cheerleading captain at the ...

from ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' is also described as a "queen bee" due to her wealth, popularity, beauty, and status as head cheerleader. The stereotype of queen bees has also become a

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...

In popular culture

, as the Upper East Side's beautiful and popular queen bee in ''

'' (2007-2012) *

, was the queen bee of her school and the most popular girl before her disappearance in ''

'' (2010-2017) **

Hanna Marin Hanna Olivia Marin is a fictional character created by Sara Shepard for the ''Pretty Little Liars'' book series, and later developed for the Freeform television series adaptation by I. Marlene King. The character has also appeared in the spi ...

, is a formerly overweight girl who becomes a queen-bee after the disappearance of Alison DiLaurentis in ''Pretty Little Liars'' *

Cheryl Blossom Cheryl Marjorie Blossom is a fictional character of the Archie Comics universe. She is a wealthy teenage girl, the privileged daughter of a businessman. The live action version of Cheryl is portrayed by Madelaine Petsch in '' Riverdale''. Histor ...

, was a student, head cheerleader of the River Vixens and the self-proclaimed Queen Bee at Riverdale High School in '' Riverdale'' (2017-2023) * Alexis "Lexi" Reed, vain, self-centered, and considers herself the Queen Bee in ''

A.N.T. Farm ''A.N.T. Farm'' is an American teen sitcom which originally aired on Disney Channel from May 6, 2011 to March 21, 2014. It first aired on May 6, 2011, as a special one-episode preview and continued as a regular series starting on June 17, 201 ...

'' (2011-2014) * Heather Chandler, the vindictive, attractive, and popular social dictator of Westerburg High School in

(1989) * Regina George, a mean-spirited wealthy girl who is indeed a queen bee, being the leader of the Plastics in ''

'' (2004) * Courtney Shayne, a criminal queen bee in '' Jawbreaker'' (1999) * Paulina Sanchez is the captain of Casper High School's cheerleading squad and a friend of Danny, Sam, and Tucker in ''

Danny Phantom ''Danny Phantom'' is an American animated superhero action adventure television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows Danny Fenton, a teenage boy who, after an accident with an unpredictable portal between the human ...

'' (2004-2007) *

Bonnie Rockwaller This is a list of characters appearing in the animated series '' Kim Possible''. Overview Team Possible Kim Possible * Voiced by Christy Carlson Romano and Dakota Fanning (young) * Portrayed by Sadie Stanley Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible is ...

from "

Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated action comedy-adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The title character is a teenage girl tasked with fighting crime on a regular basis while coping wi ...

" displays traits associated with queen bees, much to Kim's annoyance as she is captain of Middleton High School's cheerleading squad. *

Rhonda Wellington Lloyd This is a list of characters from the Nickelodeon animated TV series ''Hey Arnold!'', where most residents live in the fictional Port, coastal city of Hillwood, in the state of Washington (state), Washington. Main Arnold Shortman Arnold Philli ...

from ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpare ...

'' (1996-2004) *

Muffy Crosswire This is a list of characters featured in the PBS Kids television show ''Arthur'', which is based on the book series by Marc Brown. Arthur, the title character, is the chief protagonist in the anthropomorphism series. Buster, Francine, Muffy, B ...

from ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

'' (1996-2022)

Businesses

Schools

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading