Genderization in Scouting Advertisements
How did scouting start?
One of the first Boy Scout Troops in 1912, Oregon.
Boy Scouts
The concept of scouting originates from military scouting, or reconnaissance, where military scouts would explore unfamiliar territory to gain information about the land. Young boys would read books about scouting and practice activities described in them. Upon learning this, General Robert Baden-Powell published Scouting for Boys (in England, 1908) and started the phenomenon of modern boy scouting. Boy scouts practiced skills such as camping, woodcraft, boating, lifesaving, chivalry, and other practical outdoor activities. Scouting was a huge success and quickly spread to the US. “The Boy Scouts of America” was officially founded in 1910.
Girl Scouts
“ [Boy Scouts] was a movement designed for boys, but a lot of girls got a hold of the book and were doing scouting. In some cases, they even wrote-in to headquarters using their initials rather than their first names, so they were kind of unofficial girl scouts. But early leadership got concerned because they were afraid that boys would be turned off from a youth movement that had girls in it. They thought it would be unappealing; it wouldn’t be manly.”
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— Historian Tammy Proctor on how Girl Scouts started, in an interview with The Atlantic.
Founder Juliette Gordon Low with a troop of Girl Scouts, early 1900s.
Girl Scouts was founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low after close collaboration with Baden-Powell and much inspiration from the Boy Scouts. Low’s first Girl Scouts played basketball, hiked, camped, and did activities that were not considered effeminate at the time. Low emphasized the importance of girls in leadership positions, and that sentiment continues today. GSUSA today places values on education, activism, and has even encouraged girls in STEM since the 1960s. However, at times, the organization has also been seen as promoting more traditional values, encouraging girls to take on a stereotypical feminine role.