Girl Guides are now GIRL ONLY!

[Iamwhoiamwhoareyou]

Following April's supreme court ruling, the Girl Guides have FINALLY made a statement and will remain GIRLS ONLY - Finally closing the door on admitting trans members or allowing BOYS to invade female only spaces/camp (which, would be done without informing parents that their daughter would be sharing a room with a biological male!) - I have a previous post in feminism chat for anyone wanting to read the previous thread on this

EMAIL RECEIVED HOT OFF THE PRESS 5 MIN AGO -

As the parent of a young member in Girlguiding, following April’s Supreme Court decision relating to sex and gender, we wanted to give you an update. Many organisations across the country have been facing complex decisions about what it means for girls and women and for the wider communities affected, including us.

Girlguiding’s governing charity documents set out that the membership and people who benefit from our organisation are girls and women. In April, the Supreme Court ruled that girls and women are defined in the Equality Act 2010 by their biological sex at birth.
Following detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members and our Council, Girlguiding’s Board of Trustees has made the difficult decision that Girlguiding must change Girlguiding must change, following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

From today, 2 December, it is with a heavy heart that we are announcing trans girls and young women will no longer be able to join Girlguiding. This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community.

There will be no immediate changes for current young members but more information will be shared next week.

Most adult roles, including unit helpers, district helpers and administrative support, are already open to all, so we are confident that no volunteers will have to leave the organisation.

Girlguiding believes strongly in our value of inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups. Over the next few months, we'll explore opportunities to champion this value and actively support young people who need us.

You can find our full statement and updated policy on our website.

We are proud to be the UK’s largest youth organisation dedicated to girls and is focused on creating an equal world for girls and young women. For over 100 years, we have been a welcoming space for all girls to have new experiences, support their communities, build friendships and grow their confidence.

While Girlguiding may feel a little different going forward, these core aims and principles will always be the same. We remain committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, particularly those from marginalised groups that have felt the biggest impact of this decision.

If you have any immediate questions, we have our special support team in place, to give volunteers, parents and carers the best support we can. We are asking Girlguiding HQ, trading and country/region staff to refer any volunteer or parent who has questions about this announcement. Details below.

Contact [email protected] or 020 7532 3970
All calls/emails will be confidential, and the service will be open 24hrs, 7 days a week.
Find out more, including how this team will handle personal data.

Denise Wilson (Chair of Trustees), Felicity Oswald (CEO) and Tracy Foster (Chief Guide)

I know quite a few girls who identify as trans who still wanted to be in Guides because their friends were. They didn't want to join Scouts at all.

It's also about girls having a space where their interests come first. When there is a boy in the room, that's where the attention tends to go.

Heavy heart?! Oh fuck off.

Whilst it's good news, it's a shame they felt the need to still be pandering to trans individuals with their tone. Fuck sake!

On Facebook you are (mostly) posting under your own name. I'd be reluctant to give my true opinion on there as I'm basically a bit of a coward and fear it would affect potentially my employment or my relationship with family members who hold strong opinions on this issue.

No their not being told to exclude trans teenage girls its the trans identifying males that are being excluded, trans identifying teenage girls will now be welcome where they belong and were excluded from. Hope that helps

Hmm, on second thought, the whinging whining pandering tone of it makes me think they're still a bunch of penis worshipping lying twats who think it's tragic that boys and men can't get into girls' spaces. Maybe I'll guide my daughter to Scouts anyway.

They’d be decimated as an organisation. Look at the numbers. I was always a Scout in the 90s and my dad had run a mixed Venture Troup since 1976.

No girls will have to leave.

Hooray. But they don't sound very contrite about it. No daughter/ granddaughter of mine would be encouraged anywhere near the association.

Yes, it definitely has a chilling effect on GC women which is probably why the idiot ratio feels so unbalanced.

Fucking annoying hand-wringing rhetoric. For the sane among us, it's fantastic news and might actually save guiding :-)

👏😃

Why do they say ‘biological sex at birth’ ? Biological sex covers it, its isn’t possible to change it later on.
And the way they say ‘trans girls and young women’ … it’s a terrible statement, just embarrassing.

Excellent

I am sorry that this happened to you. There is no way that should have been left unaddressed and it must have been very distressing.

However, there is no way that female children should have to either act as if a male person is female nor should they be expected to share a space where they are in a position where they need to be appropriately safeguarded with male people who should not be included in that space.

There is a fucking huge difference between a parent dropping a female child off to sleep at a mate's house and allowing a female child to share sleeping, changing and showering facilities with a male child at a camp. The first scenario is a conscious decision that the parents have made. The second leaves any female child unprotected. Particularly since there was a policy in place to not tell parents that a male child might be sharing female single sex provisions.

Also, age is important too. While you might consider appropriate for a 4 year old male being included as a 'female', what happens to that 4 year old male when they reaches puberty? Still all ok to share a tent, showers etc? or do you envision someone having to tell that boy who has been treated as if they were female all this time, that actually, that cannot continue and they have to accept that they are male now?

Because they have obviously been dragged through this kicking and screaming.

Just one of the many organisations who are about to discover that the law is the law, however many hurty feelz you may have.

Someone's probably already asked this but will they be re-instating the leaders who had to leave due to questioning their previous policy?

It should be a really positive step - now girl guides can get back to the real job of providing opportunities for girls to expand their horizons and push boundaries.

Instead of focusing on stereotypes of gender, 'be kind' which just reinforces the caring/nurturing stereotype of women, they can actually expand this to allow girls to be whatever type of girl they want to be.

They can be adventurous, they can be messy, they can be competitive, they can be noisy - or none of these, if they prefer, but it's time to give them the choice to be girls in a space where they are supported by other girls and women only.

No female children will have to leave at all. I hope that clarifies it for you so you are no longer feeling devastated.

The girls attitude survey highlights just how girls modify their behaviour and from such a young age when boys are present. So allowing a 4 year old boy into rainbows has implications for the girls already there and may prevent some girls from being permitted to join whereas they would be able to participate in an all girls organisation. There is a similar organisation scouts to join and be a squirrel. In some areas the leaders and children attending squirrels will be predominantly female.
Girlguiding leaders are volunteers. It’s a huge responsibility taking other people’s children on trips and holidays inc internationally.
Whilst you know your own group, at large scale events you mix with other members including potentially sharing bathrooms and sleeping space.

Hear hear!

Right decision and in line with the law. However, the grudging and petulant tone of the statement has put me right off GG. Have they forgotten their actual purpose. They should have made a decision and owned that decision. Not done the whole “they made me do it” nonsense. I wouldn’t support them at all now.

Those breaking their hearts for the few boys this will affect could do with sparing some of their loving kindness for the girls unable to join a group unless it actually is single sex - some of those minorities GG claims to mind about but never has - and the benefits of girls having a girl only space. The reason GG was set up in the first place. It is ok to have a resource that centres and cares only for the half of the human race of children who are girls. It really is. Even if GG appear to be heartbroken that their girl-only organisation now has to stop catering for boys, as if their actual brief of girls is something wrong and boring. Is that the message we want girls to get in life? There are lots of mixed sex groups that children can join where it will not matter what they identify as. Are boys really so much more important?

I read this - I hope I'm wrong - that staff can continue to be of both sexes. I seem to remember it wasn't just volunteers either, if I'm getting it right this chap was a senior area lead for GG.

Personally, I rarely post anything on these boards, because there is no point, and because the attacks on any alternative opinion are brutal. There is no space for discussion. In my experience, the GC voice is a minority one, even though it doesn’t sound like it on MN.

@user976534679875 I don't think it is a minority voice - it is a silent majority.