Reply to cub scouts for girls/mixed gender Cub Scout troops

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
The US was, until recently, one of only 13 nations that had single-gender scouting out of 216 nations with scouting programs. Just an interesting fact, but one that suggests the BSA change was a good one. 
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You know why that is, right? BSA did not want to band with the Girl Scouts (as had been done in the UK), because James West thought Scouting activities weren't appropriate for girls, forcing the creation of Girl Scouts as a separate organization. We should remember that many organizations like the Girl Scouts exist due to long-standing discrimination. When the larger, generally more powerful organizations (like PWIs) finally see the light and make steps to eliminate their discrimination, that does not mean we ignore their discrimination or immediately embrace them now that we're finally good enough for them.

While Boy Scouts finally broadening their views is a long time coming, it is ... interesting, shall we say? that Boy Scouts saw the light when they lost the influx of money from the Mormon church and needed to start looking elsewhere in order to keep their coffers full. 
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Bot just this, but the bone-deep, take-it-to-the-Supreme- Court commitment to LGBT discrimination while Girl Scouts was admitting trans kids is just conveniently handwaved away by parents who don't want to go to the trouble of actually volunteering in their kid's GSA troop.  "They need money now, of course they'll stop discriminating it makes sense" isn't a reason to look the other way, but I guess any cover works if you never really cared.[/quote]

I do think this is somewhat troubling, and also I am a little bothered by the fact that BSA has not changed anything with the admission of girls -- it's still exactly the same program, which I guess is fine if that's what you want, but also strikes me as a little bit like telling girls they are welcome so long as they conform exactly to what was set up by a bunch of men over the past 100 years.  Girl Scouts, on the other hand, is very much girl driven (and women-led), and comes from that perspective.  So the BSA inclusion seems to be more the old school vision of inclusion (you can join but don't expect us to change) rather than the newer model of inclusion (bring your true full self and we will change/develop based on what you bring to the table).

But I don't think those philosophical disputes should stop a girl from joining cub scouts or boy scouts if that is what works best for her.  But I think parents should be aware that is still primarily a male-led program defined by males.  Like all predominantly male organizations/institutions, I think it can be really rough for girls if they are a minority -- some girls are able to weather that well, but for many girls, it's stressful once they hit a certain age, especially if there are only 1-2 girls in the den/troop.

Also, I'll note that for girls that want to do some of the high adventure stuff, they should look at GIrl Scout destinations, or there are also a couple different "troops" in the DC area for teen girls that focus on high adventure activities.  (I have "troop" in quotes because they aren't really troops -- they are groups that cross troop lines and bring together different girls.)  [/quote]

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