Both the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts have been in the news recently because of their policies. The Boy Scouts have maintained an anti-homosexual position, drawing fire from liberals, while the Girl Scouts have come under fire by conservatives and religious folks for their stance on reproductive rights and for being "too liberal" when it comes to homosexuality. An Indiana lawmaker even called the Girl Scouts a dangerous, radical organization.
If the Girl Scouts are radical, they're radical in ways that happen to align with my own personal beliefs about human rights. The Boy Scouts, on the other hand, do not. Back to our conversation about Scouts, I said, "I hope the Boy Scouts moderate their stance on homosexuality in the next couple of years, because I would have a hard time supporting them right now."
That's when BJ brought up an excellent point that I haven't seen anywhere else in this debate. He said, "There is no organization, other than maybe the Catholic church, that is as vulnerable to accusations of impropriety as the Boy Scouts."
"Homosexuals are no more likely than heterosexuals to be pedophiles," I reminded him.
"I know that," he said, and then he reminded me that we aren't just talking about little boys... We're also talking about 16, 17, and 18-year-olds on campouts, in close quarters. He went on to explain that allowing gay members and leaders would make the the Boy Scouts, the troops, the leaders, and the boys themselves vulnerable to accusations, lawsuits, and all kinds of other bad news. Accusations of sexual impropriety alone can be incredibly damaging to the person who is accused.
There's a difference between the way we perceive male and female sexuality in our culture. Boys and men are perceived as being unable to control their urges, while girls and women are seen as generally having greater control or having weaker urges. I don't think the stereotype is true, but maybe the difference in our culture's perception of male vs. female sexuality accounts for the difference between the Girl Scouts' and the Boy Scouts' policies?
If that's the case, then maybe the Boy Scouts should look to the Girl Scouts as a model of how to create policies and practices that protect scouts while still allowing participation from all kinds of people. Maybe they should look beyond the stereotypes of men, boys, and homosexuals and try to see the real people who are affected by the policies they maintain.
I am writing as an individual, and my views and opinions are my own. They are not meant to be representative of the Girl Scouts in any way. I haven't led a single meeting yet, so I am not any sort of an authority on any Girl Scouts policies or practices. All I know of their positions is what I've read in the news.
1 comment:
Being gay doesn't make you more likely to be a pedophile, but being male does. Policies that work for Girl Scouts may not be enough the put parents at ease in a situation where the leader is male.
Unfortunately men trying to be leaders to children are scrutinized much more than women making it even harder to get good male leaders. I think you wrote a blog about this before- even though our husbands are loving, involved fathers they hesitate to get too close to other children because someone may perceive it as inappropriate. If Cabe sees a neighbor girl fall and scrap her knee in front of our house he is more likely to go get there mom than to scoop them up and take care of them himself. (Of course with a more major injury he would attend to the child and not worry about perception).
The no gay leader rule is on a national level and it is unlikely your child will ever hear about anything about it at meeting. Yes they are a conservative organization, but they are not as close minded as the media makes them out to be. This link lists all the religions that have scout badges. They are not all Christian. http://www.usscouts.org/advance/boyscout/religious.asp
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