On to today's topic...
I'm a weird girl - I readily admit that, so maybe I'm reading more into this than I should. I have a thick skin, so if I'm wrong, tell me. I can take it.
Yesterday, I received a notification inviting all girls to come to a Girl Scout meeting that was a Princess Party. Young ladies are encouraged to dress as their favorite princess and earn their....princess badge. Duh what? A princess badge? Is this really a thing? What else do they earn? Their toenail painting badge? Their skin-care regimen badge?
I'll be the first to admit I don't know a lot about the Girl Scouts. I tried to take daughter #1 to meetings, but one, we were too poor to buy the materials, and two, it kind of sucked. Daughter #2 pretty much hates most people, so she had no desire to make lifelong friends and do chick things with other girls. So yeah, my GS experience is somewhat limited.
My darling hubby was a boy scout and did it until he quit, because and I quote, "he wanted to get laid." At least he was honest. All the stories he tells me, however, are pretty awesome. He learned to swim really well and make camp. He became a great archer. He can make fire without a match, which I think is pretty cool! The things he learned were the kind of skills a young boy can take into manhood. They had value. Where is the value in learning to be a princess? He never mentioned getting a Prince Badge.
I think this bothers me in the same way beauty pageants bother me. Little girls are more than the value of their appearance. I never tell my granddaughter or my son's BFF that they are pretty (they really are pretty though) without also saying how clever and smart they are (because they are and that's WAY more important). In the grand scheme of life, no way gives a shit if your kid is "Tiny Miss Junior Miss Little Miss Wee Wee." I'm pretty sure her future employer is not going to care, since they are hiring her for her brains...unless they are a weirdo and are hiring her for her looks which is super creepy.
Again, I could be making a mountain out of a molehill. It wouldn't be the first time. Do you learn survival skills in the GS's? Do you get other cool badges learning things of value?
Let me know in the comment section!
Quizzically,
Amanda Z
Domesticology
Okay, so it was many, MANY years ago that I was a Girl Scout. First I was a Brownie, then I was a Junior. I loved it. Back then we earned useful badges; cooking, camping, sewing (?), and the ones I remember were mostly functional life skills badges that might come in handy later in life. I remember learning how to pitch a tent, build a campfire, sell cookies and sell the most, lol. I do not, however, remember anything like a princess badge. That is kind of perplexing to me. What life skill does one learn from earning a princess badge? Granted that was a very long time ago, and times have changed.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I was kind of thinking they would be earning badges in computer programming, web site building, and other techie-related skills. //shrug//
While I understand a woman's enjoyment of the occasional pampering session, I also figure that in these times of equality (same work/same pay) and the fracturing of the glass ceiling, the Scouts would be wanting to empower girls, rather than play on the girly aspect of being female. You can still be feminine and a power player at the same time without flaunting that whole, "I'm a princess, cater to me" vibe.
I'm sure they mean no harm, but I, too, feel like the Scouts should be teaching girls that their value is what is on the inside, not what is on the exterior. But, that's just me, lol...