When I first got the 'pitch' from BSA, the party line was that a great, untapped potential existed as a result of demographic changes. That is, more and more families are doing things together. Further, there is less and less time for individualized attention: fathers have to split their time between Suzy's basketball game and John's Scout program. If we could open up BSA to girls, then we could alleviate this familial pressure...and maybe even offer girls leadership skills and help in their formation.
It was a sales pitch that was well-received by many male leaders who were in this camp, though I candidly don't know how many of them were divorced etc. Frankly, I thought it was a solution in search of a problem. True, membership has been falling for some time...but as this graph shows...
...there WAS an increase in membership after the 1970s Vietnam-era "make love, not war" retraction.
I suggested that BSA try to examine what "worked" during the Reagan years and try to replicate that vs assume that just because BSA had 100 years of success in forming young men that BSA can simply whip this program on young women and it will ipso facto be a success.
Obviously, they didn't take old DoodleBob's advice.
Again, I don't doubt that times have changed. I also recognize you gotta roll with the changes. In a vacuum, I'm not against permitting girls into BSA insofar as Girl Scouts do a lousy job of forming young women, PROVIDED strong controls and safeguards.
But bringing air into that vacuum, we know some truths are eternal. Girls and boys ARE different (notwithstanding that Tired of Taxes sounds like she'd make an awesome Scout). Further, the fact that senior management never really reached out to the rank and file for feedback/opinions tells me all I need to know about how much my opinion is valued.
However, what I DO see, is that National has not been heavy-handed in this new approach. I see many local Troops embrace the new normal, and many avoiding it like the plague - and so far, nobody has been shunned. Time will tell just how "hands off" senior management will be. For now my view is that many people bemoaning these changes are either divorced from Scouting, chronic complainers, or both. Meanwhile, strong Troops continue to provide strong leadership and direction to the male youths.
Thanks for listening.