Hi all
My wife and I took a train from Oklahoma City to Ft Worth with some friends last weekend and on the train with us were Girls Scouts. I dont know their age, but I would guess about 10 years old. It was interesting listening to other passengers talk about the girls, they didnt know what group the girls belonged with. Until you got close enough to read Girl Scouts on their green T-shirt, they just looked like any other group of girls with the same color T-shirts.
That got me reflecting back on a movie Dodgeball. Its a silly movie about adults playing a professional version of the game Dodge ball. In the movie, the rag tag group of adults have to play a Troop of Girl Scouts to qualify for the National tournament. Those Girls Scouts were dressed in the old Traditional Girl Scout uniform, not T-shirts. There was no doubt of their organization.
I've read on this forum in the past about changing the Boy Scout uniforms to a more progressive Polo Shirt style that would present a better image to the public. Ive thought about that a lot and wondered if the Boy Scouts really needed an new uniform image. I'm from a different generation and so who knows, but I now think it would be huge mistake. I remember taking our scouts into restaurants while traveling to camps and activities and it was typical for other restaurant patrons to walk over and visit the scouts. Folks just dont go walking over to teenage boys to chat. They had a common interest with these boys and they wanted to talk about it. Most ask where the scouts came from, but in general stories of their scouting experiences squeeze into the discussion. Once a truck driver stopped to talk with our scouts during a gas stop to appologize for the t-shirt she was wearing imply something about sex postions.
It was the uniform that motivated a total stranger to approach a group of total strangers to appologize for her behavior.
Back to the Dodge Ball movie, it is obvious that the producers were more comfortable with the old school Girl Scout uniforms to identify the organization. The uniform says it without additinal dialoge. I dont think they felt a green T-shirt would pull off the same effect. I also believe this about the boy scout uniform as well. I see the Boy Scout uniform used in TV shows and movies a lot to imply a boy scouting organization. Many times the name of the group is something other than Boy Scouts, but the uniform is still a very close copy of the present BSA Boy Scout uniform.
I dont know where this idea that a simple Polo Shirt would give the BSA a better image than the more traditional uniform worn today. After listening to the passengers on the train, I know that the Girl Scouts have not improved their image. Folks dont recognize them now.
Now one last thing, to be fair I admit best image scouts can present to the public comes from their actions, not the uniform. I know this from an experience when our troop of 80 very smelly dirty scouts and adults going home from a week of summer camp and a day of white rafting stopped at a busy Pizza Hut in a small town in the Texas panhandle. Because we didnt plan well that day, we were only wearing what we wore for white water rafting. Nothing indicated we were a troop of Boy Scouts. Truth was we adults were a little embarrassed with our dirty smelly group. Anyway, to give each group a break, the adults sat on the opposite side of the restaurant from the scouts and we didnt really pay attention to the scouts side. About 15 minutes after we arrived, the manager of the Pizza Hut brought several pitchers of soft drinks and pizzas to the adult table. When we told him we had not ordered yet, he said that our scouts were so well behaved that the first $100 of pizzas and drinks were on the house. What really stood out to him was how the 60 or so scouts responded instantly to the SPL putting up his sign to get their attention.
I threw that in to be fair. But my point is the same. I think the best uniform image the BSA can present to the public is the traditional uniform.
I love this scouting stuff.
Barry
My wife and I took a train from Oklahoma City to Ft Worth with some friends last weekend and on the train with us were Girls Scouts. I dont know their age, but I would guess about 10 years old. It was interesting listening to other passengers talk about the girls, they didnt know what group the girls belonged with. Until you got close enough to read Girl Scouts on their green T-shirt, they just looked like any other group of girls with the same color T-shirts.
That got me reflecting back on a movie Dodgeball. Its a silly movie about adults playing a professional version of the game Dodge ball. In the movie, the rag tag group of adults have to play a Troop of Girl Scouts to qualify for the National tournament. Those Girls Scouts were dressed in the old Traditional Girl Scout uniform, not T-shirts. There was no doubt of their organization.
I've read on this forum in the past about changing the Boy Scout uniforms to a more progressive Polo Shirt style that would present a better image to the public. Ive thought about that a lot and wondered if the Boy Scouts really needed an new uniform image. I'm from a different generation and so who knows, but I now think it would be huge mistake. I remember taking our scouts into restaurants while traveling to camps and activities and it was typical for other restaurant patrons to walk over and visit the scouts. Folks just dont go walking over to teenage boys to chat. They had a common interest with these boys and they wanted to talk about it. Most ask where the scouts came from, but in general stories of their scouting experiences squeeze into the discussion. Once a truck driver stopped to talk with our scouts during a gas stop to appologize for the t-shirt she was wearing imply something about sex postions.
It was the uniform that motivated a total stranger to approach a group of total strangers to appologize for her behavior.
Back to the Dodge Ball movie, it is obvious that the producers were more comfortable with the old school Girl Scout uniforms to identify the organization. The uniform says it without additinal dialoge. I dont think they felt a green T-shirt would pull off the same effect. I also believe this about the boy scout uniform as well. I see the Boy Scout uniform used in TV shows and movies a lot to imply a boy scouting organization. Many times the name of the group is something other than Boy Scouts, but the uniform is still a very close copy of the present BSA Boy Scout uniform.
I dont know where this idea that a simple Polo Shirt would give the BSA a better image than the more traditional uniform worn today. After listening to the passengers on the train, I know that the Girl Scouts have not improved their image. Folks dont recognize them now.
Now one last thing, to be fair I admit best image scouts can present to the public comes from their actions, not the uniform. I know this from an experience when our troop of 80 very smelly dirty scouts and adults going home from a week of summer camp and a day of white rafting stopped at a busy Pizza Hut in a small town in the Texas panhandle. Because we didnt plan well that day, we were only wearing what we wore for white water rafting. Nothing indicated we were a troop of Boy Scouts. Truth was we adults were a little embarrassed with our dirty smelly group. Anyway, to give each group a break, the adults sat on the opposite side of the restaurant from the scouts and we didnt really pay attention to the scouts side. About 15 minutes after we arrived, the manager of the Pizza Hut brought several pitchers of soft drinks and pizzas to the adult table. When we told him we had not ordered yet, he said that our scouts were so well behaved that the first $100 of pizzas and drinks were on the house. What really stood out to him was how the 60 or so scouts responded instantly to the SPL putting up his sign to get their attention.
I threw that in to be fair. But my point is the same. I think the best uniform image the BSA can present to the public is the traditional uniform.
I love this scouting stuff.
Barry
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