Tripping the Prom Queen is an investigation of the dark secret of female friendships-the deep vein of female rivalry. Based on interviews with women across the social spectrum, Susan Shapiro Barash has exploded the myth that women are generally supportive of one another. In fact, the competition between women is more vicious precisely because it is covert. She tells us: Why women can't and won't admit to rivalry. How women are trained from an early age to compete with one another. In which areas women most heatedly compete. How rivalry is different among women than among men. The differences between competition, envy, and jealousy. When competition is healthy and when it isn't. Why women find it irresistible to trip the prom queen. Useful strategies to stop the competition and forge a new kind of relationship with other women. Tripping the Prom Queen is an engrossing exploration of bad behavior that all women will identify with, and a beacon of hope for a better, more promising future.