Should boys be allowed to join the Girl Scouts?

[nhclone]

I am also a Girl Scout Alum.

I had a whole response typed out but then I deleted it.

I can boil it down to this = why should someone be denied the opportunity to join a group and learn because they're the 'wrong' sex? Where does this stop? Should nurses only be women and doctors only be men?

Shortly after landing the job I'm currently in I was told by a man that I didn't deserve the job because it's a man's job - - a man should be in there, supporting his family while the woman should be home supporting the man. I suggested that maybe the best job candidate won, regardless of who had the ovaries and who had the testes because the presence/absence of either does nothing for one's ability to do the job well.

That puts you several steps ahead of your father. Congrats

 

[Alswelk]

Also get this one--both the BSA and the Girl Scouts are private organizations so their respective entrance criteria are theirs and theirs alone. Regardless of how fair or unfair those criteria are perceived to be.

 

[BCClone]

So do we just have A basketball team, A golf team, etc. No mens and womens.

Btw dopey, the reason you weren't allowed on the volleyball team wasn't because you would have dominated, it was because nobody wanted to see you in those little shorts.

 

[Naughtius]

I can't answer that question as I have never been involved in the Girl Scouts in any way. However, based on their mission statement to "...builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place," I doubt they're doing that by teaching them how to bake cookies.

You do know the Girl Scouts don't personally bake all those cookies, don't you?

And I for one think that anyone that bakes cookies does make the world a better place, one delicious morsel at a time, regardless of gender.

 

[RING4CY]

You do know the Girl Scouts don't personally bake all those cookies, don't you?

And I for one think that anyone that bakes cookies does make the world a better place, one delicious morsel at a time, regardless of gender.

I know that. I'm not sure bugs does though.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Since we're on topic, my son's 7th grade football team had a gal at quarterback/linebacker. She's actually very, very good, and hits like a truck. Not sure how that will go as the guys get progressively bigger though, but right now, she excels.

 

[mramseyISU]

I read the article and watched the video, and it didn't appear to me that the mom (dad was not referenced) was PUSHING her son to play with dolls, dress in girls clothes, wear long/braided hair, etc. From the story, which is all we have to go on, it sounds like the kid is choosing these things.

In that case, I think the issue is how much should mom interject to push her son back towards a masculine identity? Should I let my three daughters play with Hot Wheels and a Handy-Manny Toolset, or should I only let them play with their dolls and play kitchen?

I guess if it were me, I'd discourage the Girls Scouts idea and wait a few more years to see if he grows out of it (though he's already 7, so who knows).

I hadn't seen the video but I'm bet 100% that the parent(s) are pushing this because a kid that age would maybe ask once and forget about it.

 

[Clonefan94]

I had this long rant written up about this but decided to change it to this.

OK, this is a fight about sex descrimination right? Then what's next, age? What if, after it's OK for boys to join, some 25 year old guy decides he wants to be a girl scout? He never got the chance as a kid. Now you are descriminating on age as well.

There are certain things in life that I don't have a problem being separate and sex specific. If Girls scouts is offered for girls and Boy Scouts for boys, why can't we just go with that? Girls and boys are different, it's not a bad thing to give them opportunities to develop in their own groups some times. In fact, I would say it's healthy when done correctly.

 

[besserheimerphat]

I hadn't seen the video but I'm bet 100% that the parent(s) are pushing this because a kid that age would maybe ask once and forget about it.

Do you have kids? Contrary to the popular belief of the many young and childless people on this board, little kids are not stupid. They're not like goldfish who swim around their bowl once and forget they've already been there. My daughters, ages 6, 4 and 2, remember stuff forever and it frustrates the crap out of me as a parent. I think we've finally moved past something, and then a week or two later they'll bring it up again.

If I were to guess, the kid probably heard about it at school and asked his mom about joining Girl Scouts. Mom wants to make her son happy, so she tries to sign him up. If my daughter had asked me to sign her up for Boy Scouts, I'd have said no. And when they asked me every day for the next month, I'd continue to say no.

And I still think that this isn't a question about Girl Scouts, but more generally how to deal with a young child who is still discovering their identity. Is it really an issue with the mom? Is it really a kid who is physically male by psychologically female? Is it just a kid pushing his limits? Too many important questions that need to be answered before anyone starts talking about what club to join. And I hope they get it sorted out because it's only going to get tougher if it continues as the kid gets older.

 

[cyfan964]

Gold jacket/Green jacket who gives a ****?

 

[Angie]

Believe this or not, but men and women are different, however you want to look at it. Men sometimes want to be only around other men, probably same with women. These are clubs, not jobs not "special" opportunities.

You complain about your father not being able to cook, but if your dad passes first you are in for an even bigger mess. Dad can go eat somewhere, but moms don't understand basic finances, taxes and yard work (this part can at least be hired). Firsthand experience here. Sounds like you are carrying a chip there.

Slow clap. Kudos on all that.

Meh, who cares. There are groups provided for both groups. They're private clubs. Private clubs should get to make their own rules.

 

[Cyhart]

So do we just have A basketball team, A golf team, etc. No mens and womens.

Btw dopey, the reason you weren't allowed on the volleyball team wasn't because you would have dominated, it was because nobody wanted to see you in those little shorts.

Not just yet! Soon I suspect.
You know, in highschool I was always disappointed that they wouldnt let our basketball team shower with the girl's team.
And when that scenario finally comes to fruition, it will be too late for me. Shucks.

 

[GreenRocketCY]

This is ridiculous. There is the BOY scouts and there is the GIRL scouts. They were designed so that BOYS could do one and GIRLS could do another. The reason they have both was to prevent a situation like this. Everyone else on here seems to agree, except for our very own Susan B. Anthony "Girls can do anything Boys can do" person. Last of all, how do you come across a transgender 7-year-old............most 7 year old kids probably don't know about that stuff, but times are changing, I suppose.

 

[CycoCyclone]

I think the primary concern here has to be that the "separate but equal" services are not close to equal, because each scout group has different activities?

The boy must want to join girl scouts because there is significantly less camping involved, right?

On that note, the Girl Scouts should offer more wilderness survival skills.

 

[CycoCyclone]

Or is it like in Sex Ed, and they take the boys into another room to tell the girls about their monthly visitor?

 

[weR138]

He must love cookies.

What you did here...I see it.

 

[besserheimerphat]

This is ridiculous. There is the BOY scouts and there is the GIRL scouts. They were designed so that BOYS could do one and GIRLS could do another. The reason they have both was to prevent a situation like this. Everyone else on here seems to agree, except for our very own Susan B. Anthony "Girls can do anything Boys can do" person. Last of all, how do you come across a transgender 7-year-old............most 7 year old kids probably don't know about that stuff, but times are changing, I suppose.

I think this was directed at me so I'll respond. Boys should join Boy Scouts, girls should join Girl Scouts. In my opinion the Girl Scout/Boy Scout issue is just a symptom of a larger problem that this kid and family have to deal with. Kids his age do not know or understand "transgender issues" but they can tell you if they'd rather play GI Joe or Barbie and that is part of their identity even if they can't fully understand or express it. Maybe this kid is truely transgender. Maybe he's going through some weird girl phase. Maybe it is the mom pushing some agenda. Whatever it is, the kid and family need to sort it out before trying to join the Girl Scouts and ending up in the national media. That's not going to help anything, and will likely end up tarnishing the image of the Girl Scout organization because they'll get bashed for being discriminatory (which is their right as a voluntary club) when it's the family that needs help.

 

[besserheimerphat]

I think the primary concern here has to be that the "separate but equal" services are not close to equal, because each scout group has different activities?

The boy must want to join girl scouts because there is significantly less camping involved, right?

On that note, the Girl Scouts should offer more wilderness survival skills.

BOTH organizations need to teach confidence and self-reliance. Girls should know how to hammer a nail, grill and change their own oil. Boys should know how to cook a couple of decent meals, simple sewing (fix buttons, patch holes, etc) and fold laundry. These are simple things that EVERYONE should know, but are becoming more and more rare. I've met college guys who can't work simple tools, engineering students too. I've met people who literally screwed up cooking Jell-O! These are also the people who kick my *** at Halo...

 

[MaccloNe]

He must love cookies.

Cookies are good, but I would rather eat a brownie.

 

[CloneFan65]

There was a similar case about 40 years ago.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djdr8utkagg]The Brady Bunch - You've Got Nerve - YouTube[/ame]