Boy Scouts to allow girls, raising ire of Girl Scouts

[Mister Emu]

What about in public schools, higher education, or in the Service Academies?

When I said "in development", I meant in the early to adolescent years. Almost without a doubt children would, statistically, benefit from a sex segregated primary and secondary schooling where curricula and environment would be more likely to be tailored to their psychological and physiological needs.

Further, during early to adolescent years, sex segregated environments allow youths to develop a sense of self and what their gender identity is, without the distraction or influence of the other. Boys working out what it means to be a man and girls working out what it means to be a woman, ideally with the guidance of the their elders.

 

[Kemosloby]

Girls in boy scouts, that's sure to improve enrollment in boy scouts.

 

[Stevicus]

Actually when it comes to churches there are alternative groups that mimic the boys scouts even buying the same uniforms and using different badges. For example there's a group called the Royal Rangers who look just like Boy Scouts but are exclusively Christian. So the churches are not loyal to Boy Scouts and do not control the organization. You can compare the two below:

National Royal Rangers Boy Scouts of America | Prepared. For Life.®

I was looking through a few other articles and came across this one: Trump's Boy Scout speech was compared to a Nazi Hitler youth rally by liberals

It was a few months ago, and Trump had attended the Boy Scout Jamboree, which some critics compared to a Hitler Youth rally. ("Trump Youth"?)

The Boy Scouts had to dissociate themselves from Trump's politics and made a disclaimer that the Boy Scouts always invite a sitting President to their Jamboree.

"The Boy Scouts must distance themselves from that offensive attempt to politicize scouting and turn them into a Trump youth organization," wrote Richard W. Painter, vice-chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the chief ethics lawyer in the White House under Bush, on Twitter Monday night.

...

At one point, Trump pointed out Obama's decision not to attend a jamboree during his two terms in office. He told the crowd, "Did President Obama ever come to a Jamboree?" Boy Scouts yelled out in response: "Noooooooo!"

The article also mentioned that Obama was a Boy Scout, but Trump was not.

But I wondered if this may have also influenced their decision to allow girls, so as to make it look like they're not too closely aligned with Trump.

Trump referred to one of his campaign slogans at another point: "The Scouts believe in putting America First."

The Boy Scouts of America said in a statement after the speech that the organization did not endorse Trump or any "position, product, service, political candidate or philosophy." The group has a tradition of inviting sitting presidents to address its annual gathering. It concluded, "the sitting U.S. president serves as the BSA's honorary president. It is our longstanding custom to invite the U.S. president to the National Jamboree."

 

[Vee]

Girl Scouts slam Boy Scouts' decision to accept girls



I don't get it. I recall when there were girls trying to get into all-male military schools and other similar situations, but now that they're being accepted into the Boy Scouts, they're crying foul?



Now they're talking about the benefit of a single-gender environment. Doesn't this contradict the idea that the genders are equal and that both genders can work side by side as equals? Should we go back to having all-male military schools now?

Weren't there girl scouts already? I'm confused

 

[Stevicus]

When I said "in development", I meant in the early to adolescent years. Almost without a doubt children would, statistically, benefit from a sex segregated primary and secondary schooling where curricula and environment would be more likely to be tailored to their psychological and physiological needs.

Further, during early to adolescent years, sex segregated environments allow youths to develop a sense of self and what their gender identity is, without the distraction or influence of the other. Boys working out what it means to be a man and girls working out what it means to be a woman, ideally with the guidance of the their elders.

I'm not really arguing with you. What you're saying makes sense. I'm just not sure whether everyone would agree with that or if it falls in line with views which have opposed gender segregation.

 

[Stevicus]

Weren't there girl scouts already? I'm confused

Yeah, although from what some have said here, one of the main complaints is that the Girl Scouts don't do much camping or other outdoors activities, while the Boy Scouts do. So, more girls may want to join the Boy Scouts for that reason. That makes some sense. I remember back when I was a kid, there were girls from our school joining Campfire Girls, so I guess that would have entailed more camping. Not sure whatever happened to them.

 

[columbus]

Call me an old fashioned conservative, but I do think that there's a lot of value in structured, gender exclusive, learning environments at that age.
It's not that I think that they should all be like that. I am not talking about schools or youth groups generally or anything. But adolescent people are commonly addled by the combination of hormones and ignorance and the results are stupid behavior. I don't see a problem with providing the option of an organized learning environment without the gender and sexual tensions caused by putting youngish men and women together.
Tom

 

[Mister Emu]

I'm not really arguing with you.

I didn't think you were, I was just clarifying and expanding on my statement.

I'm just not sure whether everyone would agree with that or if it falls in line with views which have opposed gender segregation.

I'd imagine that not everyone would agree. For education, the science is what it is though, boys and girls are best served by different environments and teaching methods.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I was looking through a few other articles and came across this one: Trump's Boy Scout speech was compared to a Nazi Hitler youth rally by liberals

It was a few months ago, and Trump had attended the Boy Scout Jamboree, which some critics compared to a Hitler Youth rally. ("Trump Youth"?)

The Boy Scouts had to dissociate themselves from Trump's politics and made a disclaimer that the Boy Scouts always invite a sitting President to their Jamboree.



The article also mentioned that Obama was a Boy Scout, but Trump was not.

But I wondered if this may have also influenced their decision to allow girls, so as to make it look like they're not too closely aligned with Trump.

Boy Scouts are a worldwide organization. All scouts recite this regularly "A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent." This has not changed for a long time and probably has been the same since 1910. I think that the decision to open up the boy scouts to girls is not a strike against the Girl Scouts organization at all and also is not an attempt to make a political statement. It does not exclude a girl from being both a girl scout and a boy scout.

Boy Scouts also take the scout oath which is "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people at all times, to keep my self physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight."

 

[Brickjectivity]

Call me an old fashioned conservative, but I do think that there's a lot of value in structured, gender exclusive, learning environments at that age.
It's not that I think that they should all be like that. I am not talking about schools or youth groups generally or anything. But adolescent people are commonly addled by the combination of hormones and ignorance and the results are stupid behavior. I don't see a problem with providing the option of an organized learning environment without the gender and sexual tensions caused by putting youngish men and women together.
Tom

I think you have a good point. Girls are currently only accepted under age 11 into Cub Scouts. I am not sure if there are plans to change that. It would certainly be a challenge to have girl Webelo scouts. I suspect they would have separate meetings for the girls if they did that, but I do not know.

My question is are they going to change the name from 'Boy Scouts' to something different?

 

[pearl]

I don't get it. I recall when there were girls trying to get into all-male military schools and other similar situations, but now that they're being accepted into the Boy Scouts, they're crying foul?

I think its just the leadership is pissed, they will face considerable competition for members. As a former girl scout leader, den mother and mother of an eagle scout I will say there were more adventures, opportunities offered by far in the boy scouts and far better organized. Our two daughters, girl scouts only for a couple of years envied their brother's adventures. Cookies seem to be the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning GS although that's unfair. is this to become a trend? Are there still organizations like boys club, girls club, ymca, ywca?

 

[Sanzbir]

My question is are they going to change the name from 'Boy Scouts' to something different?

Almost certainly not. Branding is what it is and the name of the Boy Scouts is recognized worldwide, so there is no reason to change it.

My gym allows Baha'is like me in it, yet it is still officially the "Young Men's Christian Association." They let old people and women in too. But the name is unchanged because the name is a well recognized, established brand.

 

[esmith]

I see it as more about them wanting to stop the decline in their membership without resorting to letting in LGBT scouts or atheists.

Shouldn't one do some research before one makes a statement.
First came acceptance of gay and transgender Scouts. Now girls can be Boy Scouts

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

I bet some of the camping trips will be a lot more fun when some of these teens find a way to share tents and showers and toilets. Just wait till the first time a girl gets pregnant on a camping trip.

 

[Revoltingest]

There has been a decent amount of pressure on the Girl Scouts to adopt a more outdoors focused curriculum. That is one of the more common complaints I heard when I was in Boy Scouts, girls wanted to go camping, too. The Girl Scout organization is upset now because the Boy Scouts are going to start taking from their membership, which cuts into their profits. As @Mister Emu pointed out, this is a business problem for them.

There's a great joke (horribly inappropriate here) with the punch line....
"Wanna go camping?"

 

[Mister Silver]

There's a great joke (horribly inappropriate here) with the punch line....
"Wanna go camping?"

That could easily be a gay joke.

Camp....camping....nevermind.

 

[Revoltingest]

That could easily be a gay joke.

It is.

I bet you're the type who wouldn't tell the park ranger!

 

[Quetzal]

There's a great joke (horribly inappropriate here) with the punch line....
"Wanna go camping?"

I know this joke! It is a good one!

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I bet some of the camping trips will be a lot more fun when some of these teens find a way to share tents and showers and toilets. Just wait till the first time a girl gets pregnant on a camping trip.

No, clearly kids should be segregated until they're old enough to be married. That works so well.

I never had much use for Girl Scouts. I would much rather go camping, fishing, woodshop than put on dresses and sell cookies. And I'm downright tired of 'what it means to be a man' and 'what it means to be a woman' largely being overenforced tripe cooked up by old fashioned traditionalism pretending to be science.

I was part of Tracker Earth, which both sexes did basket weaving, casting animal footprints, fishing and archery, etc. It was great.

 

[esmith]

Heck I wasn't even a teenager when the hormones became active...I think it was a wheat field, a girl and me....no she didn't go for my idea.