Girlguiding - Supreme Court Decision email

[ProfMummBRaaarrrTheEverLeaking]

Have just had an email from them...

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.

Lack of empathy ??

indeed - I have no empathy for girls who culturally can only access extra curricular activities that are female only spaces …..

none at all for girls who benefit from activities without being dominated by male centric behaviours

girls who can practice being leaders and in control without that being shouted down by boys often inadvertently by boys, its societal

I have clearly no empathy for the importance of having the rare female only space that GG offers for females

and actually I do have empathy for those with gender dysphoria, often individuals with complex relationships with their sense of self, others and the world around them in many ways, often neurodivergent, often core low self esteem -

I welcome opportunities to be provided for these people to have support and safety - but colluding with the ideology that they have been born in the wrong body is really wrong and dangerous - and saying that the female only space is their space is just wrong and really damaging to women and girls

This is what trans rights activists don't understand. GC women, especially in the UK, are from the generation of non conformity. We shopped in the men's clothing section (bigger pockets) and cut our hair short. We believed women could do what we wanted in life despite the misogyny of society. I wasn't a goth but goth guys and girls basically had the same hair and makeup. You cannot change your sex, but sex doesn't define your clothing choices or what job you do. Trans ideology is so regressive. Oh, you like wearing a tutu? you must be a girl. Oh you play with trucks, must be a boy. Here have some medicine to help you 'fit' the stereotype. It's an appalling assault on what it is to be human which pulls young people into a world of distress and lifelong medicalisation.

How about some empathy for girls (female)?

There is nothing wrong with being non-conforming. You are talking to a lot of people who grew up as teenagers in the 70s and 80s on here - we do know what gender-nonconfomity looks like.

But, there is a lot wrong in pretending that a child can change sex. It's deceitful and ultimately not kind to the child, and gaslighting of those children around that child. It is also not fair on the girls who are put in a position of having to shut up, or say something that will get them ostracised if they don't want to share a residential space with the boy.

Female people have the absolute right to single sex spaces sometimes, and Girl Guides were set up with exactly that in mind. It is not fair on girls to expect them to go along with pretending that a boy is a girl. Girls appreciate single sex spaces so that they have some space in the world where boys don't get to muscle in, where they can try new things without boys commenting and judging and out-competing them. A space without boys (males) being centred.

As soon as you have a "special" boy admitted to the guiding group becuase he says/thinks he is a girl (or doesn't like being with boys), the dynamics are changed. He is not female and he is not a girl. Any girls who don't want to go along with the pretence have to start to pretend to believe something they don't. This is not fair to all the girls.

If Girl Guides want to change their foundational documents and rules, then let them do it in the light of day with public debate and all current guides and leader having an anonymous vote. If everyone thinks it's such a great idea, then it'll get voted in. But it's not what most girls and their parents want for their daughters.

They should not have done this on the sly, even in an effort to "be kind" (to boys but not to the girls). The Scouts are open to both sexes, presumably of any and all types of non-conformity - the boys who think they are girls (or whose mothers think they are girls) can go there.

I better tell my hairdresser to stop giving me a ‘number 1’ with the clippers 😂😂😂

Gender bollocks is so so regressive.

Non conformative in what way?

The pain and suffering of boys is not girls' problem to solve. Girls deserve to have single sex spaces and clubs that don't include special boys that they have to accommodate.

Embarrassing comment

Are you against all segregation? Do you think we should abolish all single sex spaces such as prisons, changing rooms, toilets etc?

I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re from a generation raised with this guff. If not, there’s no real excuse for it.

This is a satisfying outcome. Though it's a shame they had to basically be coerced through the threat of legal action to do the right thing.

I hope the WI is taking notes…

Poor headline from bbc https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7n921wyzvo

Not sure why this clarification is buried near the end either. I think it would have been helpful at the very top.

"Biological girls who identify as boys are still able to join."

This hopefully will have a trickle down effect on the smaller single sex organisations.

I expect that many of the small clubs and organisations don't have the funds to have bespoke rules and policies written for them so tend to base things on the large organisations policies like Girl Guides.

It’s the “with a heavy heart” that’s so galling.
Own it, guy(de)s. stop couching it as ‘we were made to’ and accept its the right thing

Very sad at the tone of that email. Safeguarding should be front and centre in such an organisation.

I'm pleased with the change but sadly it's come far too late for my own children to benefit. I kept them well away for obvious reasons. They are the ones that nobody hears about but who have actually been excluded for safety reasons.

GG Facebook has many more ‘I am sad about this’ comments than pleased comments BUT the pleased ones have a higher number of likes than the average sad ones.
A LinkedIn post that Maya commented on had a much more balanced ratio of comments, even though the initial post was a ‘how sad’ one.

'I'm going to resign as leader'

Oh, dear, what a shame.

Bye.

There is a very vocal minority whose opinion has been championed by GG with their old male inclusive policy.
The rest of us who value girls only spaces are not commenting, partly through fear but also because we recognise that some of our peers are upset by this news and that now is not the time to rub their nose in it.
GirlGuiding is a massively diverse organisation for girls. Girls of all different personalities, sexual orientations, colours, backgrounds, levels of ability, religions, races etc, etc. We just don't include boys. Diversity doesn't just mean trans - although trans identified females are very welcome, however they identify although some may not feel comfortable with the 'girl' tag.

There’s already a change.org petition to get them to reverse it …

Of course there is.

Reddit is that way ---->

Women are sick of this shit.

Men are not women, boys are not girls, girl guides was set up for girls (the clue is in the name).

We are pleased that we are getting our stuff back and the law is being complied with.

If individual children are sad about GG obeying the law then that is regrettable, but they should never have been lied to that they can charge sex.

If adults are sad about it, they can grow the fuck up.

Do you support “gender-affirming care”? So you advocate for “non-conformative” kids to be drugged and castrated?

But they CAN'T change it. They are following the law now. What a waste of time

@PennyLane498 The Scouts, as a mixed sex organisation, will be more than happy to accommodate trans identifying boys.

HTH