Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts

[Emily's Cat]

Funny how many other cultures manage to do so. Is there something about white people that make it impossible for them to do so? Some sort of genetic brain defect?

No. But there's something about American people that makes it an intrinsic and barely recognized aspect of our culture.

That something, of course, is the Puritan element of our founding.

 

[Craig4]

Funny how many other cultures manage to do so. Is there something about white people that make it impossible for them to do so? Some sort of genetic brain defect?

Germans and Austrians are as white as it gets and having lived in Germany for four years, I can assure you that they have no issue with this.

 

[luchog]

Germans and Austrians are as white as it gets and having lived in Germany for four years, I can assure you that they have no issue with this.

And yet certain other posters have asserted that it's impossible. Couldn't possibly be just projection...

 

[Craig4]

I have seen plenty of non-sexual nudity and know cultures where this is common. That said, in the context of a mixed boy and girl scout camp, they should probably replace the missing boards on the privacy panel around the shower. Getting 500 kids in various stages of puberty to understand that might be a bridge too far.

 

[quadraginta]

I have seen plenty of non-sexual nudity and know cultures where this is common. That said, in the context of a mixed boy and girl scout camp, they should probably replace the missing boards on the privacy panel around the shower. Getting 500 kids in various stages of puberty to understand that might be a bridge too far.

As that well known and popular documentary series on M.A.S.H. units so clearly showed, it was an ongoing problem for them, too.

 

[Checkmite]

I have seen plenty of non-sexual nudity and know cultures where this is common. That said, in the context of a mixed boy and girl scout camp, they should probably replace the missing boards on the privacy panel around the shower. Getting 500 kids in various stages of puberty to understand that might be a bridge too far.

Most places I've seen that are co-ed do have segregated shower facilities.

 

[Trebuchet]

Most places I've seen that are co-ed do have segregated shower facilities.

Now that I think about it, I attended both a co-ed church camp and a segregated Scout camp in the summer of '64. I don't recall actually taking a shower at either one.

 

[TheGoldcountry]

I was a boy scout, and I am totally against allowing girls in. They can make their own organization if they want both genders in it. Allowing girls in would totally change the atmosphere. The boys would be flirting with the girls instead of doing scouting things, and they would make everything easier so that the girls could do it.

A lot of unfounded assertions in this post. Boys and men flirt with girls and women throughout life, and also seem able to succeed at different jobs and goals.

I don't think women share your view of their abilities.

 

[Checkmite]

Now that I think about it, I attended both a co-ed church camp and a segregated Scout camp in the summer of '64. I don't recall actually taking a shower at either one.

...


...for how long?

 

[pgwenthold]

Now that I think about it, I attended both a co-ed church camp and a segregated Scout camp in the summer of '64. I don't recall actually taking a shower at either one.

This is what I was going to say. In my years in scouts, I 1) never saw another guy naked, and
2) never took a shower at scout camp.

The closest thing we ever did to bathing was swimming in the river or lake

 

[dann]

Germans and Austrians are as white as it gets and having lived in Germany for four years, I can assure you that they have no issue with this.

The Germans probably less so than any other Western nation: FKK.

 

[jimbob]

A lot of unfounded assertions in this post. Boys and men flirt with girls and women throughout life, and also seem able to succeed at different jobs and goals.

I don't think women share your view of their abilities.

Many men don't either.

Or indeed many other Scouting organisations in the rest of the world.

As an aside - I got involved in our local Scout group through my kids, and I recently helped out at a competition (incident hike) with 50 regional teams. Most of the teams (of 4) were mixed - some were single sex, girls or boys.

By far the most competent two teams were all-girl teams. I was helping out at the first incident - about a mile from the start. Twenty minutes after the first team set out, we saw our first team (the final winners, all girls). The next team we saw was another 90-minutes later. They were setting out at 10-minute intervals, but only a handful of teams were competent enough at map-reading to get to us without a massive detour. That part wasn't supposed to be difficult.

 

[Craig4]

This is what I was going to say. In my years in scouts, I 1) never saw another guy naked, and
2) never took a shower at scout camp.

The closest thing we ever did to bathing was swimming in the river or lake

Our scoutmaster was a bit more military (nice guy though as I remember). We had mandatory showers some evenings and the nothing wet in the tent rule which practically meant you changed out of your trunks and hung them up to dry before going in the tent.

 

[Trebuchet]

Now that I think about it, I attended both a co-ed church camp and a segregated Scout camp in the summer of '64. I don't recall actually taking a shower at either one.

I actually have now remembered taking a shower at the church camp. And remembered the naughty joke I heard in it.

...


...for how long?

One week each.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I have seen plenty of non-sexual nudity and know cultures where this is common. That said, in the context of a mixed boy and girl scout camp, they should probably replace the missing boards on the privacy panel around the shower. Getting 500 kids in various stages of puberty to understand that might be a bridge too far.

That's a perfectly reasonable action to take.

Objecting that boys and girls shouldn't be allowed to go to the same camps because they might see a naked person of the opposite sex (OMG!!!) isn't reasonable, in my opinion. If for no other reason, at least some of those girls prefer other girls Same for boys.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Now that I think about it, I attended both a co-ed church camp and a segregated Scout camp in the summer of '64. I don't recall actually taking a shower at either one.

I did both in... when was that... must've been around 86? But I showered regularly.

 

[arthwollipot]

So are they going to be called Young People Scouts, now?

We've always called them just Scouts.

"Boy" Scouts and "Girl" Scouts have always sounded extremely weird to me. I figured it was just because America.

 

[Trebuchet]

We've always called them just Scouts.

"Boy" Scouts and "Girl" Scouts have always sounded extremely weird to me. I figured it was just because America.

Both existed in the UK prior to being started in the US, although the Girls were and are called "Guides" rather than "Scouts".

 

[arthwollipot]

Both existed in the UK prior to being started in the US, although the Girls were and are called "Guides" rather than "Scouts".

I never got the impression that Guides were Girl Scouts under a different name though. Maybe it's just me. Scouting had a profound negative effect on my childhood, so I could just be biased.

 

[quadraginta]

I never got the impression that Guides were Girl Scouts under a different name though. Maybe it's just me. Scouting had a profound negative effect on my childhood, so I could just be biased.

Both groups had the same impetus, via Robert Baden-Powell, at virtually the same time. 1910 in the UK, 1912 in the US. The US founder initially called her group Girl Guides, but changed to Girl Scouts rather quickly.

The UK group came about from girls who wanted to join Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts. He wasn't in favor of a coed organization, and came up with the name Girl Guides for the all-girls group.

All out of the same pot.