Overhauling the Alpha Bitch

 

Take your typical setting involving teenagers—say, a High School—wait an establishing scene or two or three, and there she is. See that attractive blonde cheerleader looking down her nose (often literally) and sneering at the frumpy girl in glasses? That’s her.

— Alpha Bitch, tvtropes.org

Also known as the “Queen Bee”, the Alpha Bitch is a fairly well-known trope in many books and romantic movies, particularly teen movies and office romantic comedies — the heroine needs a rival, after all.

And don’t get me wrong, the drama and scandal can be a good laugh from time to time, but I worry about how this portrayal can undermine women, and the friendships and relationships between them, especially in the eyes of impressionable audiences who haven’t yet got the life experience to tell the difference between caricature and reality.

When a real-life Alpha Bitch stresses us out, it’s far too easy to lump them into the “they’re being a bitch” category as a way to emotionally distance and defend ourselves. We have every right to do this, of course, but it does little to improve the space we must share with the person in question.

Perhaps, as well, it’s a microaggression of sorts, dehumanising and dismissing someone who may feel they have no other option but to preemptively attack or lash out.

I once shared an office with a lady who brought her own special brand of Queen Bee to work everyday. While I can’t say I based my antagonist Eleanor solely on her, she was definitely the reason I wanted to re-visit the Alpha Bitch stereotype. After spending a year confused by the surprise sting of her barbs, I learned all about how the higher-ups in our company treated her as well as what things were like for her outside of work.

The Alpha Bitch of our department wasn’t a bitch at all, but a holy-hell hard diamond. Everything she was up against cut those sheer, sharp edges into her, ones easily mistaken for barbs. Once I knew where she was coming from, the seemingly callous things she said no longer hurt because I finally understood they weren’t about me.

As a writer, I often feel some responsibility to show the sides of situations not acknowledged enough on a daily basis. Like the pain behind the anger, the beauty behind the misery, the vulnerability behind the bitch. To show another side without playing devil’s advocate, and without taking away from the experience of being on the receiving end. An aggressor’s pain should never invalidate ours, but perhaps understanding it can offer a way out — at the very least by letting us know we’re not completely powerless against it.

The Alpha Bitch has had her turn. It’s now time for that old trope to grow up. Everyone’s fighting their own private battle. And I feel the most interesting stories make an effort to at least hint at how.

Photo by Josh Rocklage on Unsplash

It Starts with a Kiss by JL Peridot

“Afternoon, ladies!” Eleanor wedged herself between Tahnee and the desk. After a few swipes of her tablet, she leaned over the partition. “Celeste, where are we with those custom loading modules for the Belvedere?”

“On track for forty-eight hours,” Celeste nodded. “I can show you the benchmarks if you need to—”

“There’s been a small scope change. Don’t ’spose you can fit it in before the deadline?”

“Uh...”

“It’s just a tiny config change.” Eleanor flicked the new spec at Celeste’s terminal. “And it's only in two places. That should be easy enough for someone like you.”

She knew what Eleanor was trying to do, and it wasn’t working. In fact, it made things worse. If she really knew the scope of the change, she wouldn’t be using that tone of voice or looking at her with that sugary smile.

Celeste shook her head. “This isn’t a simple change, Elle. I’d have to completely redo a couple of modules—”

“OK, sure! Redo them then. We have room in the budget.”

“But it’ll blow out the timeframes. I can’t get this done in two days.”

“Oh, no, you’ll just have to find a way. That’s when they need it by.”

“But—”

“No buts, Celly. I’ve already told them we’ll have it ready for when they dock, OK? So, thanks in advance, and keep up the good work!”

That was it. Elle’s walls were up, plastered in pleasantry and aggressive cheer. The perky administrator turned to leave, but after a few paces stopped and looked back at Celeste over her shoulder. “Oh, I almost forgot. Dave and the others have called a meeting. Make sure you’re in the conference room by 1600. Toodle-doo!”

With that, Eleanor skipped between the desks and left through the break room door.

Celeste is a talented engineer who doesn’t realize her job’s going nowhere fast. She’s a little naïve. She’ll cut code and solder cables forever as long as Owen’s around. Owen, on the other hand, knows exactly how badly things suck—he just doesn’t care. Sure, his skills aren’t what they used to be, but they’re still better than what Halcyon Aries deserves.

Then it happens. The company’s toxic management team finally cross the line. As both techies race to upgrade the station and to free the team from their oppressive contracts, they come to learn that life—and love—can only ever be what you make it.

💋 Available at a bunch of ebook retailers 💋

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JL Peridot writes love letters to the future on devices from the past. Visit jlperidot.com for the full catalogue of her work.

This article was originally published at JL Peridot's blog.