Calling all gender critical guiders!

[AgnesBadenPowell]

You might have seen the posts in feminism chat and AIBU last week about Girlguiding's new-ish transgender policy.

In case you missed them, the threads discussed how GG are now defining girlhood on the "innate sense of being a girl". GG is ignoring its ignoring its own research into the damage gender stereotypes do to our young women; parental consent is ignored and we now have the ridiculous scenario where a guider's 6 year old son must sleep in his own tent or pod in his mother's tent and use the male facilities on camp, but a self identifying transgirl (ie boy) of 14 is just fine sharing a tent/loos/showers with a 10 year old girl. The girl's feelings are not taken into account and her parents will not be informed.

A few of us gender critical guiders have got together away from MN to share ideas and think about how we might challenge this policy. Our individual letters to GGHQ have been ignored or dismissed but there is strength and safety in numbers.

If you'd like to join us, or you know a guider or parent that has concerns, then please PM me or @drspouse

Worried so when a parent of a trans identifying boy complains you put them in the boy tent, are you confident Scout HQ will back you up?

I have innate sense of being girl
Actually you know what...
I may not identify as a woman in the sense that most people mean but I feel a lot more like a 10 year old than a 50 year old.

Worried would you help on a swimming trip?

I have a son so this does not affect me directly but it's so important that gender critical voices are heard. So soon after jimmy saville...!

It affects you directly unless you don't know any women!

I'm sure it does affect me indirectly but I have no contact with guides, was never a guide myself...

Yeah I sort of meant the bigger picture and how this is one bit of a wider picture of chipping away at the edifice of transactivism blah blah...

But fair enough. I may just be a bit knackered and tetchy and prone to glib remarks. Soz.

No worries Certain. These are emotional and important issues that we are debating. It's easy to learn if get the better of us.

*let it

It comes with a sense of relief that people are finally starting to wake up to this destructive narrative and recognise that the protection of girls and by extension women needs to be addressed within the context of this insanity

I'm really concerned by this. My DS is in Beavers and I don't have DD's. But I feel like this is too big an issue to stand aside. Is there anything we can do when not directly affected? I was a girl guider myself many years ago but not exactly in a position now to flounce off from anywhere.