Do you know how hardcore the Girl Scouts are? Probably not. Do you know, for instance, that Girl Guides were spies for the Allies in WWII ? Did you know that before women in the US could even vote, Girl Scouting gave them a space to brave the wilderness? While Boy Scouts of America (still) holds tight to it's homophobic policies, did you know the Girl Scouts welcomed girls of different abilities, sexual orientations, races and creeds before it was cool?
I'm not going to lie to you here; Girl Scouting is badass.
In a lot of the world (i.e. Europe), Scouting has become coed, and this is great. There are many positives to coed groups, and I know several really fantastic Boy Scouts whom I secretly feel would be cool enough to be Girl Scouts. But you know what I don't buy? That Girl Guiding and Scouting needs to mimic or join the boys in order to get it right.
One of several equally depressing anecdotes: A coed group of really, really fantastic Scouts from universities around the UK is staying here at Our Chalet. On a recent day on program, the group was split up into smaller groups to have a campfire building competition. One group happened to be entirely female. "Could we have one of the guys join our group?" they asked.
ARE YOU SERIOUS? Like, I know a lot of ways to build fires, but I was unaware that having a Y chromosome made you somehow better at it. I'm confused, do you light the fire with your penis instead of a match? No? I've heard similar sentiments of internalized sexism from girls, young women and leaders for the past 16 years of my scouting life. No, I don't need help carrying this, which is likely why I picked it up in the first place.Yes, I am capable of rolling up a tent. No, the male leaders are not automatically funnier than the female ones; have you met me? I'm effing hilarious.
While I'm ranting, I'm completely over this idea that Girl Scouts is the inferior version of Boy Scouts. I swear to God, the next time some Boy Scout insinuates that I'm less able to handle something outdoorsy than he is, I will use my lashing and pioneering skills to tie him to a roasting spit, and my one-match fire skills to bonfire his condescending ass. The only thing Boy Scouts are categorically better at is peeing off of things, which I'm not entirely sure is something to brag about.
A brief survey of reality will tell you that we are, in fact, still living in a world that values girls less than boys, and that doesn't magically disappear in a coed scouting environment. Someday, in a perfectly egalitarian world, that would be fantastic, but Girl Scouting as it now stands is a unique, all female environment that does what our world needs more of: empowers girls and young women.
Here is what Girl Scouting teaches girls: You are a fully capable human being, who is able to both play dress up and build shelter out of trees. You are capable of changing the world, and the most important thing in life? It's up to you to find out what it is, but it's not impressing boys.
On a personal level, there is nothing in my life that has been untouched by my time in Girl Scouts. Beyond my semi-concerning addiction to Thin Mint cookies, Girl Scouting gave me my first time rock climbing, public speaking, using first responder training, jumping off of things I was scared to, white water rafting, comforting crying children, learning to lash a swinging chair out of wood and twine, skinny dipping, figuring out the meaning of life on a dock underneath the stars, and challenging myself, failing, and learning it's ok.
It's not that these things cannot exist in a coed environment. It's just that my copious amounts of observations and common sense tell me that Girl Scouting and Guiding does a damn good job of raising girls who are strong and self-sufficient enough to not require a boy around to light a freaking campfire.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is the largest non profit organization in the world dedicated to woman and girls, with 10 million girl members and countless grown-up ones. We plant trees, teach HIV/AIDS awareness, send delegates to UN conferences, and, most importantly, have fun. The sisterhood I belong to changes the world every day in ways that I can still hardly fathom. Girl Scouting and Guiding is as essential to a free world as air, and I could not be prouder to be part of a movement that empowers youth the way that it does.
And the girls? They are more insightful, compassionate, funny and courageous than you would ever think possible. Not a day has gone by working with these girls that they don't completely blow me away. From my little campers at Girl Scout camp who have grown into amazing role models, to the girls at Our Chalet a couple weeks ago who taught me songs and made me cry from laughing so hard, I get goosebumps thinking about how lucky I am to be part of their lives. People occasionally ask me how I can possibly sacrifice a summer (or two, or six) to Girl Scouts, of all things. My question is, how can you possibly not?
I'm not going to lie to you here; Girl Scouting is badass.
In a lot of the world (i.e. Europe), Scouting has become coed, and this is great. There are many positives to coed groups, and I know several really fantastic Boy Scouts whom I secretly feel would be cool enough to be Girl Scouts. But you know what I don't buy? That Girl Guiding and Scouting needs to mimic or join the boys in order to get it right.
One of several equally depressing anecdotes: A coed group of really, really fantastic Scouts from universities around the UK is staying here at Our Chalet. On a recent day on program, the group was split up into smaller groups to have a campfire building competition. One group happened to be entirely female. "Could we have one of the guys join our group?" they asked.
ARE YOU SERIOUS? Like, I know a lot of ways to build fires, but I was unaware that having a Y chromosome made you somehow better at it. I'm confused, do you light the fire with your penis instead of a match? No? I've heard similar sentiments of internalized sexism from girls, young women and leaders for the past 16 years of my scouting life. No, I don't need help carrying this, which is likely why I picked it up in the first place.Yes, I am capable of rolling up a tent. No, the male leaders are not automatically funnier than the female ones; have you met me? I'm effing hilarious.
While I'm ranting, I'm completely over this idea that Girl Scouts is the inferior version of Boy Scouts. I swear to God, the next time some Boy Scout insinuates that I'm less able to handle something outdoorsy than he is, I will use my lashing and pioneering skills to tie him to a roasting spit, and my one-match fire skills to bonfire his condescending ass. The only thing Boy Scouts are categorically better at is peeing off of things, which I'm not entirely sure is something to brag about.
A brief survey of reality will tell you that we are, in fact, still living in a world that values girls less than boys, and that doesn't magically disappear in a coed scouting environment. Someday, in a perfectly egalitarian world, that would be fantastic, but Girl Scouting as it now stands is a unique, all female environment that does what our world needs more of: empowers girls and young women.
Here is what Girl Scouting teaches girls: You are a fully capable human being, who is able to both play dress up and build shelter out of trees. You are capable of changing the world, and the most important thing in life? It's up to you to find out what it is, but it's not impressing boys.
On a personal level, there is nothing in my life that has been untouched by my time in Girl Scouts. Beyond my semi-concerning addiction to Thin Mint cookies, Girl Scouting gave me my first time rock climbing, public speaking, using first responder training, jumping off of things I was scared to, white water rafting, comforting crying children, learning to lash a swinging chair out of wood and twine, skinny dipping, figuring out the meaning of life on a dock underneath the stars, and challenging myself, failing, and learning it's ok.
It's not that these things cannot exist in a coed environment. It's just that my copious amounts of observations and common sense tell me that Girl Scouting and Guiding does a damn good job of raising girls who are strong and self-sufficient enough to not require a boy around to light a freaking campfire.
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is the largest non profit organization in the world dedicated to woman and girls, with 10 million girl members and countless grown-up ones. We plant trees, teach HIV/AIDS awareness, send delegates to UN conferences, and, most importantly, have fun. The sisterhood I belong to changes the world every day in ways that I can still hardly fathom. Girl Scouting and Guiding is as essential to a free world as air, and I could not be prouder to be part of a movement that empowers youth the way that it does.
And the girls? They are more insightful, compassionate, funny and courageous than you would ever think possible. Not a day has gone by working with these girls that they don't completely blow me away. From my little campers at Girl Scout camp who have grown into amazing role models, to the girls at Our Chalet a couple weeks ago who taught me songs and made me cry from laughing so hard, I get goosebumps thinking about how lucky I am to be part of their lives. People occasionally ask me how I can possibly sacrifice a summer (or two, or six) to Girl Scouts, of all things. My question is, how can you possibly not?
Cate, you are pretty much my favorite person ever.
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