Speak up for the girls

[FireStone]

A plea to adults to stop staying quiet and speak up for our members, in particular the girls in our Packs and Troops:

We're going on 7 years of girls in Scouts BSA at the Troop level, 8 years in Cubs. At this point, girls in Scouts BSA and Cub Scouts should seem completely normal to everyone, there aren't many active boys who would have been old enough to remember the time before girls were in the main programs after so many years. 

And yet if you look on social media, the hostility towards girls is still rampant, and sadly some of it comes from members, both youth and adults. 

Girls are treated like invaders, as if they took over the BSA and forced themselves into the organization. Nothing could be further from the truth, as these girls would have been under 10 years old when the membership policies changed. Still, some boys and men feel empowered to bully these girls, and yes I knowingly use the word "bully" as it fits the definition of what is happening here. Repeated targeted behavior meant to make someone feel unwelcome on the basis of gender. It's some of the same usernames and profiles making the same comments on every social media post that depicts girls. 

Whether they like it or not, these girls are full members of Scouting America and should be afforded the same recognition and respect as the boys. But few adults stand up to the bullies. Few people speak out, and even Scouting America seems reluctant to act. Anti-female comments are left on Scouting America social media posts for days or weeks before they are finally deleted, if they are even addressed at all. Meanwhile some of the older girls who are featured in these posts (or their fellow Troop scouts) see the comments and the damage is already done. 

I think it's long past time that the grace period be expired for what is often reduced to someone "just sharing an opinion". These are Youth Protection violations, use of social media to make people feel like they don't belong in Scouting should be handled as such. Each comment should be investigated, each person identified as a member of Scouting America should be dealt with according to any other in-person instance of bullying. 

Personally, I'd like to see any adult member who engages in this be immediately removed from the organization. And any scout who does it be referred to their Troop and local Council for appropriate disciplinary action. 

But aside from any hope for an official response and increase in action regarding this issue, I'd also like to implore EVERYONE to speak up for the girls, and defend female youth members in the same way we'd defend male youth members from bullying and targeted unkind behavior.

Those opposed to girls in Scouting America have had more than enough time to get it out, say what they wanted to say, and voice their disagreement. And no one is saying that they can't still do that, but take your grievances to National or Council offices. 

It's been 8 years. Some girls are old enough to have joined and aged out already, and yet they've had to endure this nonsense from within the organization the whole time. Let's not let this remain a thing in Scouting. We can't control what everyone says, but we can and should end this tolerance we seem to have as an organization for social media bullying on the basis of gender. 

[Navybone]

I agree with so much of what you are saying.  They have forgotten the Scout Laws points of being courteous, kind, and friendly.  Maybe they think the blasting of scouts on social media is "brave." But the honest fact is that there are still many who refuse to accept change.  They are almost always adults and think that the old way was the best way. You also see it in conversations about Cit in Society, that the undefined evils of "DEI" have changed the program and is no longer worthwhile.  I totally disagree with that assessment.  

My son earned Eagle Scout in a combined unit.  We never had issues with the scouts in a mixed gender troop.  Any issue we had with by parents with preconceived ideas, none of which ever proved true.  I was in the Navy before female were on ships and then afterward. I heard all the same reasons why it was going to bring the Navy down.  It did not, and some of the finest sailors and leaders I know are female.  

A mixed troop (family troop -  not a big fan of that title, but can live with it) is right for out troop and our community.  No one is denied the opportunity to learn all the great lessons that scouting provides because of their sex.  

Edited Monday at 08:36 PM by Navybone

[Tron]

What is this? What is the complaint here? Is this Microslop generated grief mongering? 

[qwazse]

I’m afraid that your expected timeline for change is far too soon. Seven or eight years is far too soon for any of these young women to rescue the lost in an avalanche, explore some unknown frontier, lead her nation through war, secure a peace, or become mom of the year or any of the other feats where, as such an adult, she will look back and say her time on the trail to eagle was the first step toward the rarified height where she now stands.

Then and only then will people not have time to complain about the rise of a single scouting program for Americans of both sexes.

I have a niece who I believed was presidential material. She balked when I said it years ago. She is now on her school board. I envision in another decade or two half of you will be voting for her, and the other half will be making up partisan excuses not to. (I’m just writing this now to be able to link to it in the future.) But for that to happen, she will have prevail in a sea of nay-sayers.

Same for my daughter when she’d play dress-up. I told her to never settle for princess, or even queen. It’s empress or bust. The metaphor still applies now that she is an engineer solving a major corporation’s largest problems. My son’s wives are in similar positions. I sincerely hope one day they have their own firm.

But that kind of growth only occurs when those who oppose you manifest for who they are. These “bullies” are doing your scouts a favor. They have something to overcome. It will make them great.

[qwazse]

I will also point out: social media posts intended to trigger rise up on feeds. Meanwhile proper discourse like what people may ponder in this moderated forum is not clickable.

Even if a decent comment from a seasoned scouter here were to get memeified, it would be framed so terribly that half of us would think their membership should be revoked.

When I was advising my coed crew, my most strident opponents provided some excellent program activities for my youth.

Words may hurt me, but sticks and stones make for a great cooking fire.