Current Events > Well, boy scouts are now allowing girls to join...

(+) Yeah! (+)

Guess its time to shut down girl scouts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boy-scouts-will-admit-girls-allow-them-earn-eagle-scout-n809836
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I wouldn't have minded a few chicks being around when I was a scout. That Arrow of Light ceremony was a sausage fest.
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It says they will have all girl and all boy dens.

Girls won't necessarily or at first mesh with the boys until perhaps later?

I don't really mind inclusion. But hold the standards the same across the board for everyone.
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Well, that's cool I guess. You can get e-2 in the military earlier if you are an eagle scout, so it's more fair for girls of they choose to enlist.
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Asherlee10 posted...

Do the Girl Scouts get the same sort of survival skills that Boy Scouts offer?

AFAIK, the Girl Scouts are not as outdoors focus as the Boy Scouts. Although the BSA already has a Venture Scout program open to both boys and girls.

Really though, there should be more of a push for Girl Scouts to do more Boy Scouts activities than Boy Scouts allowing girls.
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Have they allowed gays then or no?

No more girl scout cookies.i
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joeywheeler posted...

Have they allowed gays then or no?

I'm pretty sure gays can be boy scouts. Though I don't think many are pretty open about that, because i don't think it's very widely accepted.
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Asherlee10 posted...

Do the Girl Scouts get the same sort of survival skills that Boy Scouts offer?

Not even close. Nor do they provide the leadership experience Boy Scouts offer. In my experience, at least.
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good for them
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Tmaster148 posted...

Really though, there should be more of a push for Girl Scouts to do more Boy Scouts activities than Boy Scouts allowing girls.

This is how I personally feel as well. Though girls who are into those stuff are probably the minority?
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Asherlee10 posted...

Do the Girl Scouts get the same sort of survival skills that Boy Scouts offer?

Hardly. Boy Scouts is far more outdoors/wildlife/survival oriented.

It's important to note that the Girl Scouts generally cap around the age of 14. If they wish to stay in the "scout" program, there's the Explorer/Venture programs which are indeed more survival/outdoor focused, and have been co-ed for at least the past the 20-someodd years.

I can't find the actual announcement on Scouting, but I'm reading as this change will allow girls into the Cub Scouts, which is the direct equivalent of girl scouts -- generally reserved for kids kindergarten age through 5th grade. After 5th grade, cub scouts can join into Boy Scouts, where girls will be split off into Girl Scout troops or merge into Explorer/Venture troops. And, notably, the Girl Scouts and female Explorers/Venturers will have the opportunity to earn the eagle scout rank within those organizations. Right now there's something that's similar in effort/requirements but has way less notoriety to it.

Cynically, this is more in wake of declining membership, so they're consolidating smaller clusters to maintain support and viability.
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Tmaster148 posted...

joeywheeler posted...

Have they allowed gays then or no?

I'm pretty sure gays can be boy scouts. Though I don't think many are pretty open about that, because i don't think it's very widely accepted.

Gays were very recently allowed after previously being banned, but yeah social acceptance is a different thing and I'm sure that varies from group to group.
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philsov posted...

Asherlee10 posted...

Do the Girl Scouts get the same sort of survival skills that Boy Scouts offer?

Hardly. Boy Scouts is far more outdoors/wildlife/survival oriented.

It's important to note that the Girl Scouts generally cap around the age of 14. If they wish to stay in the "scout" program, there's the Explorer/Venture programs which are indeed more survival/outdoor focused, and have been co-ed for at least the past the 20-someodd years.

I can't find the actual announcement on Scouting, but I'm reading as this change will allow girls into the Cub Scouts, which is the direct equivalent of girl scouts -- generally reserved for kids kindergarten age through 5th grade. After 5th grade, cub scouts can join into Boy Scouts, where girls will be split off into Girl Scout troops or merge into Explorer/Venture troops. And, notably, the Girl Scouts and female Explorers/Venturers will have the opportunity to earn the eagle scout rank within those organizations. Right now there's something that's similar in effort/requirements but has way less notoriety to it.

Cynically, this is more in wake of declining membership, so they're consolidating smaller clusters to maintain support and viability.

Girl scouts have one or two ranks that include theb14-18 year old range. Also, some one beat me to the Cub Scouts not Boy Scouts difference. As a dad of two cubs and a little girl who has fun at all the meetings, I look forward to this.
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So at this rate they'll just have to change the name to like Youth Scouts or just Scouts?
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The UK has allowed girls in to Scouts since 1976 or at least girls aged 15-20 so Explorer (Venture at the time) Scouts and beyond and girls aged 6+ (so all sections) since 1990 and it's just called the Scout movement over here.

Nice to see the US catching up.
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fenderbender321 posted...

Good job...now they're gonna start getting pregnant at scout camping trips. Good going.

Can't stop laughing. I'm at work.
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fenderbender321 posted...

Good job...now they're gonna start getting pregnant at scout camping trips. Good going.

@fenderbender321

This is a joke post right?

Here in the UK the boys and girls have to be in separate tents and it's not like being in Scouts is going make them want to have sex anymore than them being out of Scouts.
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I read this earlier and what the fuck

Wouldn't it just be better to merge the two as simply "Scouts"

Whatever, long as it doesn't interfere with the cookies
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im not against this decision or anything, but i do think it is a bummer that a lot of avenues for male bonding / mentoring are kind of disappearing in an effort to be more inclusive for both genders. that kind of stuff is important today IMO, especially with how modern society is
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Romulox28 posted...

im not against this decision or anything, but i do think it is a bummer that a lot of avenues for male bonding / mentoring are kind of disappearing in an effort to be more inclusive for both genders. that kind of stuff is important today IMO, especially with how modern society is

I think they're still going to be separated by gender.
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The thing I read said that girls will be able to join the Cub Scouts(not Boy Scouts) starting now and in 2019 a separate program will be made available where girls can earn the Eagle Scout rank. I'm not sure exactly how separate the Boy Scouts and this new program will be. Personally I don't really understand why they'd want them to be too separate if declining Boy Scout membership is in fact part of the reason they're trying to open up membership.
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Asherlee10 posted...

Do the Girl Scouts get the same sort of survival skills that Boy Scouts offer?

No and that's the same reason my little cousin quit the girl scouts years ago. She always heard me talk about all the fun camp outs I had as a Boy Scout then her troop just sat there and did crafts.

It's cool they are doing an actual Boy Scout equivalent for girls. The sisters of all my Scouts were always involved in the activities and basically honorary members of the troop. Venture scouts is fun and all but they don't have the structure of Boy Scouts. Venture scouts only meet to plan outings. They don't do all the badges, ranks, and ceremonies.
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Ex-Kefiroth posted...

atheists are still banned from boy scouts, iirc

Boy Scouts is a religious organization. Not that being atheist really stops you from becoming a member.
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Why not have one unified scouts group, with various activities and let the kids or parents choose the ones that best suit them?
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As an Eagle Scout who always thought that it sucked that there really wasn't a true girl equivalent to Boy Scouts as Girl Scouts, while a perfectly decent organization in its own right, really was nothing like Boy Scouts, I think this is a really good idea. This is particularly true at the Cub Scout level where kids are still fairly formative and the idea that girls shouldn't do "boy stuff" hasn't quite set in.

I see Green Butter's point though about how it would be unfortunate to lose a avenue for male bonding and mentorship though. While it's important that girls get the same opportunities as boys, there is value in some same-gender bonding activities.

I think the idea of idea of a coed Cub Scouts followed by Boy Scouts and an expanded coed Venture Scouts would probably be a good compromise. There might be some instances where there isn't a large enough girl population to warrant a full Venture Scout program for the area and in that instance they might need to be folded into Boy Scouts, but if that were the case it's not like there would be enough girls to really alter the boy mentor-ship experience.
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The US is literally 27 years behind the UK on this btw.
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Person Scouts.
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was there no mixed gender equivalent before at all?
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Gheb posted...

As an Eagle Scout who always thought that it sucked that there really wasn't a true girl equivalent to Boy Scouts as Girl Scouts, while a perfectly decent organization in its own right, really was nothing like Boy Scouts, I think this is a really good idea. This is particularly true at the Cub Scout level where kids are still fairly formative and the idea that girls shouldn't do "boy stuff" hasn't quite set in.

I see Green Butter's point though about how it would be unfortunate to lose a avenue for male bonding and mentorship though. While it's important that girls get the same opportunities as boys, there is value in some same-gender bonding activities.

I think the idea of idea of a coed Cub Scouts followed by Boy Scouts and an expanded coed Venture Scouts would probably be a good compromise. There might be some instances where there isn't a large enough girl population to warrant a full Venture Scout program for the area and in that instance they might need to be folded into Boy Scouts, but if that were the case it's not like there would be enough girls to really alter the boy mentor-ship experience.

I would agree with basically all of this. Becoming an Eagle Scout was one of the most important learning experiences I ever went through and I think it would be great for girls to learn the same things.

ROBANN_88 posted...

was there no mixed gender equivalent before at all?

There was Venture Scouts but it was considerably less structured. It's mostly just monthly camping/trips. There really isn't the same organization and advancement system.
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So when will boys be allowed to join the girl scouts? Probably never.

Obvious leftist agenda.
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UncleBourbon33 posted...

So when will boys be allowed to join the girl scouts? Probably never.

Obvious leftist agenda.

The US was literally 27 years behind the UK on this... And the US wonders why most of the first world sees it as being so backwards.
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Would the lil girls really be able to keep up with da lil boys in camping stuff?
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spikethedevil posted...

UncleBourbon33 posted...

So when will boys be allowed to join the girl scouts? Probably never.

Obvious leftist agenda.

The US was literally 27 years behind the UK on this... And the US wonders why most of the first world sees it as being so backwards.

Why is it considerd "backwards" in the first place?

It was called the Boy Scouts for a reason.
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ssj3vegeta_ posted...

Would the lil girls really be able to keep up with da lil boys in camping stuff?

Boy Scouts is hardly elite level survivalist stuff. I really can't think of anything so physically exerting that a girl couldn't do it.
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Only a matter of time til the gender brigade starts complaining that some little "boy" with a vagina wants access to the boys' den.
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Honestly, the main reason I quit Boy Scouts was because I was getting old enough that hanging around a large group of exclusively dudes in my spare time was getting boring. I forget how old I was. Cub Scouts was a ton of fun, but Boy Scouts lost my interest pretty early.
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UncleBourbon33 posted...

spikethedevil posted...

UncleBourbon33 posted...

So when will boys be allowed to join the girl scouts? Probably never.

Obvious leftist agenda.

The US was literally 27 years behind the UK on this... And the US wonders why most of the first world sees it as being so backwards.

Why is it considerd "backwards" in the first place?

It was called the Boy Scouts for a reason.

And it has just been Scouts in the UK since 1990 and we still have Girl Scouts (which we call Guides).
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