New Thread for Adrian: Female Boy Scout Camp Staff

[OutdoorThinker]

Starting a new thread, because I dont want to hijack someone else's thread.

 

This past summer at camp we had four college girl on staff --three directors and one asst. director. I definately feel that the summer was easier with other girls going through the same thing and other girls to talk to. I dont know if I would have survived camp school without my other half, my partner in crime, my friend, Turkeyslayer, the female shooting sports director. Turkeyslayer and I had the same night off and that was always good. We could vent and get a break from the boys.

 

However, I was fortunate to have an incredible Program Director and Camp Director both who were receptive and totally accepting of female staffers.It could have been a completely different summer if they were not cool about the girls being in camp. The four of us didnt have any trouble with being girls at camp with staff or with campers. I had some trouble with my own troop, but they are a bunch of goofy guys as it is.

[Overtrained]

Kudos to you.

 

When I was a camp director I enjoyed having girls/women on staff. It added an ambiance that would not have been there if left to guys. The male staff were better behaved too.

 

Overtrained

[andrewcanoe]

I think the best person for the job should be the one who gets the job. Only problem being boys of a certain age think a female staff member's dream date would be a boy 4-5 years younger. These boys spend too much time in the female staff members area even if they have all the badges avalible there.

 

I've only had one bad experience with a female staff member.( I heard she quit the next week.)She did not have a scouting background and only joined scouting to work at the camp as a medic. All the other females I have met on staff have been top notch(but then again so is the camp)

[Proud Eagle]

I don't think there is any problem with females on camp staff, generally speaking. There can be problems related to female camp staff. If females are hired because they are females, or to provide girls to keep the boys on staff from getting lonely, that would not be a good thing.

 

However, if the female is the most qualified person for holding the postition at Scout camp, then I see no reason not to have them. (As long as facilities and such allow for it.) In fact it would be great if we could replace some of the so-so staffers with top notch staffers of either gender.

 

I am a bit concerned about using female youth as staff at a boy scout camp. That always seemed a bit odd to me. At a Venturing camp, or a Venturing area in a regular scout camp, it would be perfectly natural. On the other hand to change the camp staff Troop into a staff Crew just to have female youth staff at the Boy Scout camp in Boy Scout program areas is a bit of a stretch, in my opinion.

 

The only other problem with female staff is that the immature campers (and staff) often do stupid things to get the female's attention. Others preffer just to make very crude and derogatory jokes about the females on staff. Those things aren't the fault of the females, but can be a by-product of their presence.

 

 

[OutdoorThinker]

I found that the female staff were really well recieved by the male staff at camp. They were well behaved and none of us girls were ever uncomfortable.

 

At camp school, I was the only girl in my section. I was comended at the end of the week by my trainers and the other Scoutcrafters as being "one of the guys." Perhaps because of my "one of the guys" status the guys were pretty crude, but I shrugged it off. By the end of the week they had complete respect for me as a Boy Scout camp Scoutreach director.

 

Andrewcanoe does make a point...all of us girls on staff had an admiring camper at one point during the summer.

[mk9750]

At the camp we go to every other year, there has been a female water skiing instructor there. Being both young, and often in a bathing suit, she often had a similiar type problem. All of the guys tended to hang around her area during free time. She handled it with a great attitude, if you ask me.

 

But, now that I think about it, every guy in our Troop 15 years and older has water skiing MB. HUMMM?!?!?

 

The world will be so much a better place when unimportant aspects of a person - skin color, or their gender - are overlooked when deciding who should get what jobs. Sure, sometimes it's better to have a guy. Sometimes a girl would be better. But not often. In the other, let's see, 99% of the time, why even notice?

 

Hey, this one's not too long!

 

Mark

[NJCubScouter]

But, now that I think about it, every guy in our Troop 15 years and older has water skiing MB. HUMMM?!?!?

 

Sounds like an amazing coincidence to me.

[dsteele]

I think we're supposed to notice gender It's what we do once we notice the gender that's important.

 

As to females on camp in a Boy Scout camp -- I'm 100% for it. They make a wonderful addition.

 

In fact, if it weren't for a certain female being on camp staff in 1990 when I was the Assistant Camp Director, I would not have met her and would not have married her and would have missed out on the best thing I ever did . . . marry the Nature Director.

 

DS

[Campfire Fairy]

I would just like to give props to the Boy Scout Camps for hiring females for ~any~ position. Girl Scout camps have yet to staff boys for positions other than groundskeeping and the cook, both of which have very limited exposure to the campers.

 

As far as any behavior problems related to having female staff members in a boy scout camp, I think I would be surprised and suspicious if there weren't any such problems as secret admirers, and distasteful remarks. If you throw a girl in with a group of guys, regardless of location and affiliation with the boy scouts, there's going to be crushes and crude comments. It's called hormones and typical boy behavior (this being said at the risk of getting comments of retaliation on female chauvenism and stereotypes! )

[hops_scout]

For a Girl Scout day camp, I've been on staff for a number of years now. Being a Boy Scout and camp being on Boy Scout property...

 

I usually am in charge of the hike that the older girls take during two of the days of the week. This year I may be on staff at the resident camp which the day camp staff are having afterwards. Either leading the trail again (no problem for me, I know it BETTER than the back of my hand if possible;)) or maybe even helping with climbing on the cliffs. I'll just have to wait and see, huh?

[OutdoorThinker]

As a sister in scouting I'd like to welcome you, Campfire Fairy.

[Campfire Fairy]

Shanksh.

 

Girl Boy Scout Power

[boyscoutgirl0204]

Hello All,

I have just stumbbled accross this forum, and i have to tell ya some things. I myself work at a boy scout camp and im a female. I have worked there for 7 years now. I currently hold one of the most important positions in camp. I cant tell you how diffrent my life would have been if i hadn't followed in my brothers footsteps and joined camp staff. Girl scouts never had very much to offer me. All i ever wanted to do was camp. My first year i could have been no more nervous. But the guys at camp quickly accepted me and i had the best summer of my life. If i hadn't had that experiance my life today would be compleatly diffrent. I wouldn't have something to look forward to every summer, i wouldnt have freinds all over the state, and i wouldn't know what i want to do with my life. And yes, i agree, a girl in a boy scout camp does have a tendency to cause a few little problems, but being scouts you would be suprised of the outcome. I basicly grew up there in camp. And as every kid grows up and strives to find themself, girl or boy, they are gonna make a few bad judgement calls. But the way problems and situations at camp are handled have taught me a much greater lesson than any punisment my parents could have thought up. So, knowing a lot of you think its a bad decission to let girls on your staff, i beg you to think twice before you say no to that next little girl with the dream of following in her big brothers footsteps.