http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/10/12/eagle-scout-rip-boy-scouts-america-were-great-for-100-years.html
As a boy scout myself, it's very hard talking about this as many irreplaceable friendships have been formed during my ongoing participation in the boy scouts. The Boy Scouts of America have made a decision to allow girls in the organization which is completely unnecessary because there is an obvious alternative called the girl scouts, And if there is something so deeply wrong with the girl scouts that girls would rather join the boy scouts why not fix the girl scouts rather than changing and destroying an organizations values when the much easier path is just to reform the girl scouts. The girl scouts have said that they are against the decision, also that it would just be a distraction to the boys. I completely agree with what the girls scouts has to say. The whole point of the boy scouts is so that the boys have a refuge in which they can escape the world and especially girls to where they can focus on developing leadership and friendship among other boys. This decision goes against everything the boy scouts stand for. If this is allowed to happen then boys will not have the option to have a refuge or to even be able to enjoy their camp outs. And how are they going to accommodate for the girls by separating the girls and boys. The boys will have nothing but girls on their minds rather than the merit badges and activities that are in the camp outs. And one of the biggest problems is in my opinion is that activities and merit badges will have to be changed so much to the point where they will not be enjoyable because why would parents send their girls to go shoot guns and be in a camp with 90 percent boys. This decision is the end of the boy scouts and the end of male only spaces and men not having to worry about women. Goodbye boy scouts, you were a great organization for a hundred years.
I disagree with what you have to say, though, you do have some good points. The girl scouts do less outdoors and exploration than boy scouts do so I think it is unfair of them to not allow girls to have this option. Many girls would rather go camping and learn survival skills that are typically male oriented but the girl scouts and boy scouts, being sexist organizations, wont allow this. I think it is great to give an option to young girls on what they want to be. The girl and boy scouts of America are designed to help children find who they are and discover what they want to be when they're older; so why not give them an option on what they want to do? As for your point about boys being distracted, that should NOT be a problem at this age. We are old enough to be responsible and not get distracted every single time a girl walks by. Most children get along fine regardless of their gender so why does that become an issue when you're older? I apologize for this being so long but I do disagree with a few of the sexist viewpoints in the article that is attached and as a woman I feel I have a right to speak up.
ReplyDeleteThe article attached also has some very homophobic, transphobic, and overall exclusive views within it that I feel can be very hurtful to people reading this.
DeleteThe article is of course biased I know this but being a boy scout myself and having firsthand experince (which you do not have) of what goes on inside of a boy scout camp and boy scout troop I know that a group of hormone fueled boys in the woods secluded it can certainly be a distraction. Of course when we are alone in the camp it comes up in conversation once in a while but having girls in the camp is certainly not a good idea.
Delete(I know I have made a few typos in my last reply) also I do want to point out that there is a thing called the venture scouts which allows both boys and girls to be together in the same group but they have a more strict requirement which is having to be at least 14 and aquire the highest rank in either boy scouts or girl scouts. Which sound more reasonable than letting a bunch of boys and girls barely displined alone together in the woods.
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ReplyDeleteOkay, the more I read this this funnier it gets. Son, the counterexamples you used to keep girls out of our precious boy scouts is frankly, super gross. The fact that boys (you?) would be distracted from values purely because females are in a 20 feet radius of you is just really sad. As an ally and a friend of many gay women, this just does not make sense. If lesbians can use the same locker rooms as the objects of their desire, I'm pretty sure boys of the age 7-18 can do the same. If these young, mostly prepubescent males are distracted by the mere presence of women, there is something wrong with the nature of Boy Scouts itself.
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DeleteWhich counter examples are you talking about in particular? Boys and girls being left alone together in the woods? But whatever it is, its my own personal opinion from my 4 year experience in the boy scouts. Theres no need to be angry at other opinions.
DeleteYes I am a male, but being a boy scout and having numerous experience in boy scout camps your argument is overly simplified your defense comparing lesbians in a locker room with presumably straight girls is like comparing a gay man in a sports bar. And the majority of boy scouts are teenage boys. And yes boys will be distracted after being in the woods secluded for a week or more. The boy scouts does not hate women and neither does the girl scouts (otherwise my scout master liz vintin, a female, would not be allowed to be a scout master)
ReplyDeleteI understand that combing the two is random but it’s not necessarily bad. We should promote building friendships between genders. Gender shouldn’t matter. If you’re really a strong driven individual then you wouldn’t let anyone ruin your chance so it’s wrong to blame a girl for “distracting” a boy from getting a badge. You never know what can happen until you try it.
ReplyDeleteThere should be friendships between genders but of course we would get tired of being around each other all the time so boy scouts offers that opportunity for boy have fun and foster relationships between boys. The reason I feel so strongly about this is because developing a genuine relationship between males is much harder because males have a much higher societal pressure to keep their feelings in in fear of being called weak, I myself have experinced this firsthand. For a genuine friendship to form you have to at least share infomation about yourself in order to gain the others trust, the more you learn about male psychology the more you know about why boy scouts is important to males.
DeleteBoys should be taught to be gentlemen around girls, so if anything including girls into Boy Scouts helps this issue as well as the common misconception that boys being distracted by girls and women is somehow the girl’s fault. It isn’t. That shows early signs of rape culture. As for your other examples, it seems that you’re against the idea of girls doing “boys activities” such as camping and shooting guns. The idea that boys should grow up believing that they should explore, focus, take on adventures and be exposed to activities such as guns or archery is fine but the idea that women are too delicate for that is ridiculous as it is antique. Let the girls decide instead of telling them what to appreciate. For example, Girls Life magazine spends time telling us how to fix our makeup or our weight while meanwhile Boys Life encourages career choices and work ethic. The first step towards proving feminism for both sexes at a young age can happen through many decisions, including this one.
ReplyDeleteYou're right boys should be taught how to be a gentleman, and they are!(in the boy scouts of course) And I'm not against the idea that girls can partake in more masculine activities, they certainly can! but I disagree that girls should be integrated into the boy scouts. And I'm not saying that it is the girls fault that they are distracting the boys. I want you to understand that what I'm saying is that I don't hate women and neither does the boy scouts and the fact that you assumed that I was saying that it would cultivate "rape culture" among boy scouts, is completely false. I was trying to say that unwanted romantic relationships would form between the boy and the girl. And if this would to happen then it would be a massive liability for the scoutmaster to sort out.
ReplyDeleteI think that this idea was very considerate of the boyscouts. at least all of those girls that are tomboys (not putting labels on anyone) have something fun that they would like to do. and the girlscouts may be a bit against it but that's because they don't want to lose any girls from their troops. but I honestly think that change is good.
ReplyDeletebtw this is Elizabeth keehn
DeleteUh, I personally don't think that boy scouts was "ruined" by them letting girls in. I think it's a great opportunity for girls that want to do "boy" stuff. If the boys were raised right then they wouldn't be "distracted" by the girls and instead be friends and work together.
ReplyDeleteIf girls truly wanted to do "boy" activities then why not petition the girl scouts to include these activities? As far as I know they have not made any attempt to do such a thing.
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