Girl Scouts vs. Boy Scouts - Page 2

I noticed this is dated 1991 (or am I reading this wrong?). I think there was a suit against them and they have to allow them now. So I "think" this is old info.

My DS is also an Eagle Scout as are his two best friends from school here. I saw no reason to limit his access to such a great opportunity just because some national office has a position (or used to) on something that didn't touch our local organization. That was NEVER an issue in his troop and I left all the bickering to people at the national levels. It was a great experience for my DS.
Edited by aliadam - 5/28/12 at 9:01pm

I was wondering the same thing with the older date. I did find this, it's from Wikipedia, which I don't always completely trust, but found some discussion of it on scouting forums through snopes, there was a link to the original statement on the BSA Legal site that has since been removed.

 

"In 2004, the BSA adopted a new policy statement, including the following as a "Youth Leadership" policy:

"Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed. The conduct of youth members must be in compliance with the Scout Oath and Law, and membership in Boy Scouts of America is contingent upon the willingness to accept Scouting’s values and beliefs. Most boys join Scouting when they are 10 or 11 years old. As they continue in the program, all Scouts are expected to take leadership positions. In the unlikely event that an older boy were to hold himself out as homosexual, he would not be able to continue in a youth leadership position."^[13]

BSALegal.org published these policies until February 2010, when it was removed from their website.^[13" 

 

 

 I could not find anything to support this online. I did find a piece on Snopes indicating no connection exists between the two.

Overall, I think both stray farther and farther away from the "scout" aspect of the orginazations.

 

Heck, none of the boy scout troops in my area growing up (my brother was one), nor the troops around here (from when ds expressed interest) even camp. My brother did one year of scouts and then didn't do any more, he was absolutely crushed they didn't go out camping, or even do hikes or nature walks. We're rural and all communities are highly wooded, and you won't camp or fish? Crazy. Fast forward past high school graduation and my brother is an army medic and routinely goes out camping by wandering up the mountain with whatever he can carry in his pockets. He was not able to gain any of that knowledge through boy scouts, and based on his life now that was obviously the one thing he wanted to be able to do through that orginazation. When ds expressed interest and I was talking with the troop leader I brought up camping because it was the only thing ds was adament about. "Going outside the limits of cultivated land is too much of a liability, so we do not camp or hike. We hold a yearly campout in the school gym though." Yeah, that teaches skills

 

I was in girl scouts for 2 years expecting the same thing - to be outside. Nope. Cookies and crafts about sums up my time there.

I have my girls in girl scouts and my son in boy scouts. I believe in SCOUTING for kids, I don't care if they are liberal or conservative. I don't get into the politics. Scouting teaches values and confidence. It helps build friendships and leadership skills. 

I'm not sure if the official rules on the gay members, leaders, etc. has changed or not, but I have a friend that is a lesbian and her son wanted to join cub scouts and she wanted to be a volunteer with the group and they were turned down because she was gay.  They said the child could join but that her and her partner were not allowed to be a leader or volunteer for the group.  She has since started her own unofficial group for her son and his friends.  Its a shame too because she is such a wonderful person and so is her partner.

Well that must just be your local troop then. I'm sure all troops are different. My DS went camping almost every month in boy scouts. In cub scouts they only camped as families (I just asked my DH who was the cub scout leader) but as they got older they started doing more and more as just boys with adult leaders. By around 5th grade (changes from cub scouts to boy scouts) they went about one weekend a month. They even went in the winters. My DS learned all kinds of skills camping. They even did the hike out carrying your stuff on your back type camping where they then have to then pitch for the night. My DS got his firecrafter's where he had to start a fire from scratch using sticks. They also had week long camping every summer in addition to the school year camping. Our troop also did a "high adventure" I think they were called each summer, where they went for a wk or longer trip to learn sailing, hiking out in the west, or rafting and carrying all their supplies on their backs for a wk. The rafting one my DS made the cover of the boy scout national magazine (old timers here may remember that).

Girl Scouts ARE less adventuresome I admit. My co-leader and I took our girls camping twice a year though. (I hated every minute of it, but did it because I thought I wasn't a good leader if I didn't). They are much more craft oriented. We didn't do much "roughing it" at all, but that probably is different from troop to troop also as we two leaders were NOT roughing it sorts.

I still agree with Stacia. The politics of the higher ups wouldn't have kept me from having my kids in scouts. They weren't involved in any of that and my kids were totally unaware of any of that. It's a friggin' kids organization for cripes sake. It was a wonderful experience for both my kids, but especially for my DS. I wouldn't have denied him that because of my personal beliefs.

Honestly, I'm glad my boys haven't showed a lot of interest in Boy Scouts as I'm not a big fan of the organization. They're more interested in sports and they have dh to take them camping, hiking. etc. I was in Girl Scouts as a kid and all I remember doing are crafts and sleepovers on livingroom floors. 

~The Following response is not me speaking for all Boy Scouts of America members and Alumni.~

 

Unfortunately you, like most people, do not for the most part know what you are talking about. if you had done any research at all you would know that Planned Parenthood and girl scouts do have a history together. "GSA pays PP to go and give educational talks and to print educational materials.There is a money exchange...." Boy Scouts unlike girl scouts have a firm foundation in the Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches. Boy Scouts stand up for what they believe in. We do not teach our youth what to do when you made a terrible decision, and became a parent. we teach them what to do the first time.

 

~Again as stated above I am not speaking for the Boy Scouts of America, and all of those Affiliated with.~