Scouting Magazine - betting the farm on girls

[gblotter]

The September-October issue of Scouting Magazine makes it clear that BSA is betting the farm on girls.

Cover photo: Family Scouting

Letter from CSE: Justifying girls in Scouting with claims that it was all in response to popular demand (his lies just never stop)

Commissioner's Corner: How to welcome girls into Scouting

Recruiting Article: How to get more girls in Scouting with Scout Me In

Order of the Arrow Article: Welcoming girls into OA staring February 2019

Roundtable Article: Welcoming girls into a pack

Scouting FAQ: Uniform Q&A with feature photo of a girl Cub Scout

Cub Scout Corner: How to balance busy lives with a big feature photo of a girl

Ethics Article: Cell phone story focused on a teen girl

Main Article #1: Welcome to the Family - 8 page spread focused on girls

Main Article #2: A New Era of Scouting - 4 page spread about girls in Cubs

New Leader Guide: Feature photo of a female leader

Now tell me why boys should not feel they have lost their Scouting program? I predict BSA will lose more boys than girls gained for a net loss of overall membership. Faced with this reality, they'll change to program to make it even more girl-friendly. Boys are the failing segment of our society right now, and nobody cares - nobody.

[ParkMan]

17 minutes ago, gblotter said:

The September-October issue of Scouting Magazine makes it clear that BSA is betting the farm on girls.

Cover photo: Family Scouting

Letter from CSE: Justifying girls in Scouting with claims that it was all in response to popular demand (his lies just never stop)

Commissioner's Corner: How to welcome girls into Scouting

Recruiting Article: How to get more girls in Scouting with Scout Me In

Order of the Arrow Article: Welcoming girls into OA staring February 2019

Roundtable Article: Welcoming girls into a pack

Scouting FAQ: Uniform Q&A with feature photo of a girl Cub Scout

Cub Scout Corner: How to balance busy lives with a big feature photo of a girl

Ethics Article: Cell phone story focused on a teen girl

Main Article #1: Welcome to the Family - 8 page spread focused on girls

Main Article #2: A New Era of Scouting - 4 page spread about girls in Cubs

New Leader Guide: Feature photo of a female leader

Now tell me why boys should not feel they have lost their Scouting program? I predict BSA will lose more boys than girls gained for a net loss of overall membership. Faced with this reality, they'll change to program to make it even more girl-friendly. Boys are the failing segment of our society right now, and nobody cares - nobody.

It's just the BSA sending the message that they're serious about making this work.  At the onset of the program, they're talking a lot about it, hyping it up, working to share the enthusiasm.  They want to see this be successful.  If they didn't do this, they wouldn't be doing their jobs.

In a few months, the majority of the articles will be back to typical content.

[Jameson76]

It was sort of all in wasn't it.   Maybe a tad bit of overkill.  More interesting may have been details on the Philmont recovery plan, information on the Northern Tier fires, what some units did instead of Philmont and how they accomplished that effort, Venture fest at Summit...you know...actual scouting stuff

The focus on "Family Scouting" from National sort of reminds me of when you start seeing tons of ads for an upcoming movie.  The amount of ads and promotions seems inverse to the actual public demand / interest for the actual content of the movie

[FireStone]

This kind of is the big story right now. Not sure why anyone would expect any different coverage. In fact I think it would be weird if it were done any differently. 

 

[wdfa89]

ok it wasnt just me.  I saw and thought same things.  to be expected, of course.  looking forward to the Boys now welcome in Boy Scouting issue ha ha ha

[qwazse]

...

Second observation: the "Back to Basics" could use a picture of a female venturer being treated for her first blister.

Third observation: those boys like like they are having fun.

Edited August 29, 2018 by qwazse
Scratching my first observation: I'm just way too colorblind.

[HelpfulTracks]

1 hour ago, gblotter said:

Letter from CSE: Justifying girls in Scouting with claims that it was all in response to popular demand (his lies just never stop)

Im getting more than a little tired of hearing the 'it's all lies" refrain. I have been hearing Scouters argue for girls in Scouting since I returned to Scouting almost a decade ago. I argued against it until the last 2-3 years. So this change has come from within, the drum beat has been steady and growing louder for some time. Maybe it has not been the call from the LDS community (though I know many that support it), it has been loud and growing in the other 80% of Scouting.

Is it unanimous? Clearly not. Is it even the majority? I cannot tell you. But it has been a vocal and growing community of Scouters for a while now.

[TMSM]

1 hour ago, ParkMan said:

In a few months, the majority of the articles will be back to typical content.

I hope you are right, but I doubt it. I am sure we will see first girls bridging over, first girl eagle, first girl eagle project, first girl SPL, first girl troop, first girl OA leader etc..,

I think all the articles should get back to typical content. This is feedback I am getting from my boy Scouts.

[eagle90]

I thought it was just me.  Glad to hear I'm not alone.  The majority of the photos, no matter what the topic had girls in them too.  Overkill is the right word.  Kind of like shoving the concept down our throats.

[malraux]

9 minutes ago, HelpfulTracks said:

Im getting more than a little tired of hearing the 'it's all lies" refrain. I have been hearing Scouters argue for girls in Scouting since I returned to Scouting almost a decade ago. I argued against it until the last 2-3 years. So this change has come from within, the drum beat has been steady and growing louder for some time. Maybe it has not been the call from the LDS community (though I know many that support it), it has been loud and growing in the other 80% of Scouting.

Is it unanimous? Clearly not. Is it even the majority? I cannot tell you. But it has been a vocal and growing community of Scouters for a while now.

There's also the recurring complaint of not discussing plans for the exact plan of how the whole girls thing will work, but when the magazine starts talking about that subject suddenly it's too much on the plan for girls.

there are times when I feel like the point of this forum is for people to complain.

[gblotter]

6 minutes ago, HelpfulTracks said:

Im getting more than a little tired of hearing the 'it's all lies" refrain.

And I'm getting more than a little tired of BSA National claiming popular support for a divisive decision when they crafted a manipulated survey and distributed it selectively and won't reveal the results.

 

8 minutes ago, HelpfulTracks said:

it has been loud and growing in the other 80% of Scouting

Even in the non-LDS Scouting community, support is spotty at best. The backing of a loud minority does give one claim to popular support.

[FireStone]

14 minutes ago, HelpfulTracks said:

Im getting more than a little tired of hearing the 'it's all lies" refrain. I have been hearing Scouters argue for girls in Scouting since I returned to Scouting almost a decade ago. I argued against it until the last 2-3 years. So this change has come from within, the drum beat has been steady and growing louder for some time. Maybe it has not been the call from the LDS community (though I know many that support it), it has been loud and growing in the other 80% of Scouting.

Is it unanimous? Clearly not. Is it even the majority? I cannot tell you. But it has been a vocal and growing community of Scouters for a while now.

Agreed. I keep reading that no one wanted this. I guess when local scouters (myself included) were writing letters and making phone calls to advocate for this years ago, we just imagined doing all of that. When my committee sat around a table and did an informal "show of hands" poll of who was in favor of this and 7 out of 8 of us raised our hands, I guess that was just my imagination. 

The apparent notion that people wanting this simply don't exist is baffling. I don't have any data to show that it was the majority opinion, but I also don't see how anyone can believe that it being a popular opinion is "all lies". 

Edited August 29, 2018 by FireStone

[gblotter]

2 minutes ago, FireStone said:

but I also don't see how anyone can believe that it being a popular opinion is "all lies".

As I said above, the backing of a loud minority does give one claim to popular support.

[FireStone]

Just now, gblotter said:

As I said above, the backing of a loud minority does give one claim to popular support.

What minority? What data says that either opinion was the minority opinion? 

[HelpfulTracks]

1 minute ago, gblotter said:

As I said above, the backing of a loud minority does give one claim to popular support.

Calling it a minority does not make it so.

I was frustrated for a while feeling like I was in the minority when I opposed girls in Scouting. My experience is like that of FireStone's, most people I see are supporting it.