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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

601 replies

ElizaDolittle124 · 14/01/2026 22:35

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?

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Needspaceforlego · 25/04/2026 22:45

Mithral · 25/04/2026 11:55

I don't think we found out that there was a boy at a girl only activity did we?

What we have reported is a 7 year old child dressed in a brownie uniform who was apparently "very obviously a boy". At 7 years old this can only means short hair can't it? OP never clarified if she'd asked a leader about it.

I used to get mistaken for a boy all the time until puberty as I had cropped hair and wore shorts everywhere. I'm now a 5' tall massively top heavy old lady so it doesn't happen these days!

If it was a boy then he shouldn't have been I'm the brownies obviously.

I thought it was established that it was acceptable for children of leaders to attend Brownies?

But whatever if it was a boy they at least weren't pretending to be a girl.

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