MEAN GIRLS: Queen Bees and Wannabes Rule In Gill Hornby’s ‘The Hive.’ “The awesome power of the Queen Bee is over other females, rather than males. Yes, males fall for her, too, but the really interesting thing about her is the way she controls her sisters. That’s what makes her the Queen. . . . Here’s one startling takeaway from The Hive: If a middle class housewife feels second-class in 2013, her oppressor is more likely to be another woman—quite possibly the local queen bee or the queen’s ambitious minions. Men are excluded for different reasons now. A queen bee’s power is exaggerated when her subjects are cut off from men and from the larger world. She might be the bossy friend who pressures you to forgo vaccinating your kids. Or the hostess who gets her kicks excluding you from her spa party.”