Boy Scouts Will Now Include Girls

***Leboman*** · 10-11-2017, 12:52 PM

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-scout-n809836

I don't have a dog in this fight and honestly don't care but doesn't this mean the eventual death of both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts as they exist now?

Shift II · 10-11-2017, 01:47 PM

Should just call it Scouts

***Leboman*** · 10-11-2017, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shift II

Should just call it Scouts

I imagine that's where it's heading.

Like I said, I have no strong opinion but it has been interesting watching the reactions on both sides of the issue. There's a lot of "It's about time" and an equal amount of "Oh hell no" being batted back and forth.

**bravesfan007** · 10-11-2017, 01:58 PM

I have no words other than it is 2017 and nothing that happens should shock us.

Shift II · 10-11-2017, 02:02 PM

I'm pretty far removed from it but I'm under the impression that masculine part of boy scouts was already dead/dying.

***Leboman*** · 10-11-2017, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shift II

I'm pretty far removed from it but I'm under the impression that masculine part of boy scouts was already dead/dying.

I don't know about that. My son Chris was in Scouts for the past three years and it was very much about boys transitioning into men. I assume each troop can forge its own identity but the one he was in was all about being manly and doing manly things.

**Giga Hertz** · 10-11-2017, 03:30 PM

Whenever I see stuff like this it makes me wonder that - if there's legitimate scout related activities that the girl scouts aren't offering - rather than do something asinine like this, why not adjust the girl scout program to have the activities the girl scouts feel they're missing out on?

Quote:

"I just want to do what the Boy Scouts do — earn the merit badges and earn the Eagle Award," she told NBC News. "The Girl Scouts is a great organization, but it's just not the program that I want to be part of..."

For what it's worth, I'm fairly certain the Scouts program in Australia is the same for both genders. I only knew like three people I went to school with that did it.

Also does the girl scouts actually do anything other than sell cookies? That's about all I know from TV.

**dogfood** · 10-11-2017, 03:56 PM

Pretty sure this happened in New Zealand at least twenty years ago.

**Giga Hertz** · 10-11-2017, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogfood

Pretty sure this happened in New Zealand at least twenty years ago.

Was it merging the two programs together, or running them separately and just letting the opposite gender in? There isn't a separate program in Australia, as far as I'm aware.

jthomas1600 · 10-11-2017, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shift II

I'm pretty far removed from it but I'm under the impression that masculine part of boy scouts was already dead/dying.

I don't know that to be true (my son was a scout) and I don't know that this will absolutely lead to that. When I was a kid my parents were part of the SDA cult. One thing that church did well was organize their own things. We had Pathfinders. Pretty much exactly like boy scouts, but co-ed. We all met, all did the same things, and when we went camping there was a separation between the genders. It worked fine. Don't see why scouts couldn't head the same way.

**bravesfan007** · 10-13-2017, 08:10 AM

Anyone find it strange that the Girl Scouts are upset that they have opened it up like this? Are they afraid of their numbers dropping? Scouting has been in decline and I wonder if this isn't a way to boost the numbers for the BSA. Sometimes numbers drive things more than social justice.

TheFrenzy · 10-16-2017, 08:07 PM

As long as they still keep selling cookies, America will be just fine.

earlessdog · 10-17-2017, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bravesfan007

I have no words other than it is 2017 and nothing that happens should shock us.

This is my opinion in a nutshell. Everyday there is something new, things are so fast paced now, are our own 'boats' ready for the storm?

***Leboman*** · 05-02-2018, 07:31 AM

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...uts/572036002/

This makes sense. They really aren't the Boy Scouts if they let in girls. I wonder how this will affect the Girl Scouts? The end of the article makes it sound like the Girl Scouts aren't too happy about this.

**Chrysostom** · 05-03-2018, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leboman

I don't know about that. My son Chris was in Scouts for the past three years and it was very much about boys transitioning into men. I assume each troop can forge its own identity but the one he was in was all about being manly and doing manly things.

I had the privilege of attending an Eagle ceremony for three scouts recently. This is exactly what I came away with, both in how people understood scouting and in the actual practices and culture we heard about that night: maturing from boys to men. The higher leadership has apparently lost its way in a way that many at the local level have not.