To feel weird about Brownies because there’s a boy there?

[ElizaDolittle124]

Was invited to Brownies tonight to see my daughter do her ‘promise’. Was a bit awkward as it turns out there’s a boy in the group. Another parent turned up with a younger sibling who immediately said loudly ‘mummy why is there a boy here?’ The mum was v flustered trying to explain he wanted to join in and the child just said ‘but brownies is for girls’ until she told him to be quiet.

I just feel a bit weird that I didn’t know. The whole reason we joined brownies was for the girls only environment, which my daughter was really excited about. Feel like I should have just put her in the scouts instead now (which would have been more convenient). But my friend is one of the brownie leaders and she encouraged me by promoting the idea of a girl’s only space.

There’s a brownie camp sleepover thing next month where they sleep in dormitories. My daughter can’t go anyway as we have other plans that weekend, but it’s got me wondering how they’re going to arrange that? Surely they can’t have the boy sleeping separately in a room on his own, but equally he can’t go with the girls?

Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers are girl only organisations. Boys can't join.

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-volunteers/updates-for-our-members/equality-diversity-policy-statement/

I thought Brownies were covered by Guides policy.

Exactly.

Tonnes of girls in Cubs too. It's the modern way.

Are you sure it was a boy??? I too thought the ruling covered all of girl guiding.
it’s had a lot of media attention

This is not ok, boys are not allowed to join Brownies.

But Cubs are open and transparent about being mixed sex.

Brownies is advertised as single sex. The USP is that it's only for girls.

That’s a different situation.

Regardless of anyone’s views on the rights and wrongs of it, beavers/cubs/scouts are mixed sex. Rainbows/brownies/guides have always been for girls, and before Christmas changed their policy to confirm that they were only for females, not trans girls.

Was it one of the unpaid volunteer leaders child who had to attend in order for the leader to be present?

Notwithstanding what others have posted about boys joining, I’m not sure I follow the logic that ONE boy means you might have well have sent her to the scouts (which presumably has more than one boy and is probably male dominated).

Brownies (girlguiding) is for female children only. They recently issued a press release confirming they would follow the law post Supreme Court decision.
Scouts are a different organisation and opted to go mixed sex several years ago.

Was the boy actually wearing a uniform and making his promise? Could he be one of the leaders’ son and they’re struggling for childcare so he comes along to sessions?

Unfortunately Girl Guiding have decided that boys who want to be girls can join as if they were girls, and that cross-dressing men can be Leaders as long as they call themselves women.

And that parents must not be informed if their daughters will be sharing sleeping, toilet or washing facilities with these boys.

Many Leaders disagreed. They were mostly forced out of the organisation.
.

We had to check this policy recently…

Biological girl who identifies as boy - allowed.
Biological boy who identifies as girl - not allowed (this is the recent ruling).

You can raise it with the leaders and ask for the district commissioner details if unhappy. I agree it gets v complicated when it comes to residentials.

I missed that. What about existing boy-Guides and Leaders?

How do they enforce it? If a child looks a bit boyish, do they ask to check the birth certificate?

Yeah that was illogical to me too.

OP, are you sure it was a boy and not a girl who looked like a boy?

Girl guiding will now not be allowing any more boys identifying as girls to join. But the existing ones are being allowed to stay. No idea why. As they are not female. But hey that’s where we are now.

you are not being unreasonable. It’s ridiculous and bizarre. No way would my daughter be going on that brownie camp.

‘Boy-guides’ - they dont seem to have decided, but they have said nobody is going to be forced out; just that no new ones can join.

Updated policy is here but I’m not 100% clear on what impact it has on adult roles and tbh haven’t really paid much attention as it doesn’t affect us.

www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-volunteers/policies/equality-and-diversity-policy/

Exactly my concern - how am I as a leader going to enforce/check? We have had some very ‘boyish’ Guides over the years who weren’t trans, just tomboys for want of a better phrase.

Are you sure they weren't just a little girl with short hair? Or volunteers sometimes have to bring their own children in order to be able to run the group

The Brownie will not have a been a boy or else the child was not a Brownie.

Your child will be too young for Scouts and would need to join Cubs if you wanted their equivalent but there will definitely have been lots of boys there and likely fewer girls.

To those asking if he was really a boy. He very obviously was and wearing the uniform and joining in. Maybe he was one of the volunteers children, I don’t know.

I feel weird it was kept secret and my expectation was that it was a girls environment. The local Scout/Cubstroop is closer to us so more convenient. At least if I’d gone there I’d know if was mixed.

I can’t put my finger on it but it’s just made me feel a bit ‘off’

The fact that the leaders are clearly recognising this boy as a girl suggests that they will also do so when it comes to sleeping arrangements, hence the OP’s concern about dormitories.

The scouts, on the other hand, have not given any indication that they would be likely to take the radical step of putting a boy in the girl’s dormitory.

Also, what parent is sending a 7 year old questioning his gender to brownies?! Why not send him to cubs and let him find his way in a non single sex environment. It’s all v strange