TFrancis

There were siblings selling cookies at our Pinewood Derby. I wonder what that report looked like.

I'm not so sure that referring to girls who join BSA as "Boy Scouts" is a viable approach. I have the privilege of being the Den Leader of a girl Wolf Den. We've only been at it for 6 months, but so far the girls love it. They really enjoy camping and hiking. My daughter returned from her first Cub Scout camp out filthier than I probably ever did in all my years as a Boy Scout. We are providing them the same quality program as the boy Wolf Den. That said, they are still girls. All 6, independently, chose the skort option for their uniform. Some of them do other extra curricular activities that are stereo-typically female, like dance or cheer leading. In the next couple of months, they are going to have a blast building pinewood derby cars, but I can guarantee you that at least some of them will be pink and glittery. My point is that the girls who are looking to join Boy Scouts have the desire to be Scouts. They don't necessarily have a desire to be Boys. There are, of course, exceptions, but if the intent is to grow the program, we have to appeal to more than just the exceptions. Those of us with a long relationship with the Boy Scout program may be able to separate the gender aspects of the word "Boy" and elevate the term "Boy Scouts" to mythical levels, but to those girls who don't have the background in the program, it's going to be a non-starter.