In 1910 the Girl Guides were established in the United Kingdom by Robert Baden-Powell. (A friend has pointed out that in fact they organized themselves as girl scouts the year before Baden-Powell attempted to tame them as guides. A point worthy of noting…) And then on this day in 1912 the Girl Guides were formed in the United States. The Guides were patterned on the Boy Scouts, but were always a bit different. Eventually they would rename themselves the Girl Scouts. Originally, I think this division of the sexes was based more on negative opinions about what girls could and should do. But, as often happens through the law of unintended consequences, this ambiguity opened a way. Always the healthier of the two organizations, today the Girl Scouts are showing what an inclusive and genuinely empowering youth organization can be. I believe the Boy Scouts could learn a thing or two from them, if they were of a mind. A word to the wise…
Oh. Also. Might be time to buy some girl scout cookies…
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