Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

The hundred-year-old Boy Scouts of America organization is opening it's doors to girls. I have a son who was a Boy Scout (achieving the Eagle rank) and his twin sister who was a Girl Scout. I have some fairly strong feelings and ideas about this but am interested in what you all think:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/u...uts-girls.html

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

Just wait for the inevitable when they go camping - little cubs scouts!!!

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

I was discussing this topic only yesterday with my daughter. She has been a Beaver Scout (ages 6-8) Leader for twenty years and she was talking about one of the girl members. I did not realise they accepted girls in the troop. She said that girls were allowed to be in Beavers and Cubs, the next age range, but that they did not allow girls to be in the Scouts (ages 11-17).

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

Ging-gang-goolies?

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

I thought that it was already permissible for girls to join the Scouts in the UK.

Strangely, though, you never hear of boys joining the Girl Guides!

Still, the way things are going, I'd be very surprised if they didn't before long.

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

Hi

If they are going to get up to stuff they will, Scouts or no Scouts.

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

Girls have been admitted to Scouts in UK for over a decade now.

I have mixed feelings on this - and not for traditional nor sexists reasons.

Pretty much all primary schools and most secondary are co-ed - which is good.

Scouting was the last place where lads could work together in a completely male environment. I feel this brings another dimension to learning about life - a complement to the valuable mixed-sex experience of modern education.

Thoughts welcome.

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

I think to be fair to everyone, there should be several organisations:

Boy Scouts for boys only;
Girl Guides for girls only;
Scouts for boys and girls;
Guides for girls and boys;
(although I'm not sure exactly how the latter two would differ, other than in name).

The latter two should also provide a means to participate for those who haven't yet decided on which gender they are!

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

Although I can’t possibly object to girls joining the scouts, part of me wonders whether there’ll be any loss of the special camaraderie which I think single sex membership can help to engender.

I’m also not sure whether a ‘one size fits all’ approach to scouting activities might produce a watered down version of Scout life. So I’m in two minds about it really.

Re: Boy Scouts Will Now Accept Girls

The same might be said about the armed services.