Boy Scouts of America accuse Girl Scouts of starting 'war' - BBC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Since the Boy Scouts started recruiting girls, a number of all-girl Boy Scout Troops have formed in the US
A recruitment drive by the Boy Scouts of America is proving "highly damaging" to the Girl Scouts, lawyers acting for the latter organisation say.
The "infringement" meant many parents mistakenly signed their daughters up for Boy Scouts, thinking it was Girl Scouts, lawyers said.
In response, the Boy Scouts accused the Girl Scouts of starting a "ground war".
The Boy Scouts dropped the word "boy" from its recruitment programme, and opened up to female members, in 2018.
It said at the time that it was renaming the Boy Scouts programme Scouts BSA as it prepared to allow girls to join.
But the Girl Scouts said the change would erode their brand, calling the move "uniquely damaging" to them, filing an initial lawsuit in November 2018 against trademark infringement.
Last month, lawyers acting on behalf of the Boy Scouts asked a judge to throw out the lawsuit, which suggested it could not use "scouts" or "scouting" in its recruitment material for girls.
In the latest filing at the Manhattan federal court on Christmas Eve, the Girl Scouts described the new recruitment programme as "highly damaging" to its organisation, having caused an "explosion of confusion" among parents.
"As a result of Boy Scouts' infringement... [there have been] rampant instances of confusion and mistaken instances of association between Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts," the papers stated, adding that the organisation could provide proof of such instances.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Boy Scouts said this was "not only inaccurate - with no legally admissible instance of this offered to date in the case - but it is also dismissive of the decisions of more than 120,000 girls and young women who have joined Cub Scouts or Scouts BSA".
In October 2017, the Boy Scouts' board of directors voted unanimously to open the century-old club to all children.
The move triggered a fierce backlash online, with the Girl Scouts accusing the group of initiating a "covert campaign" to recruit girls into an organisation that had a "well-documented" declining membership.
The Boy Scouts reportedly has close to 2.3 million members in the US, down by about a third since 2000, compared with about 1.7 million members for the Girl Scouts - excluding adult volunteers.
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I don't know..... As a teenager, I could see some worthwhile advantages to having girls in our troop. Might bring much welcomed new meaning to "Jamboree"?
Dad was my scout leader from cub scout to explorer.
Mom was a girl scout leader from brownies to a house full of cookies.
Our vacations consisted of camping and hiking in national parks.
Toured Mexico with a bus load of girl scouts once (a dream cum true).
Camped at Philmont several times. Learned military grade survival skills.
Attended a National jamboree long before Trump disgraced himself at one.
My father, 2 brothers and I are all eagle scouts. Merit badges out the ass.
BSA/NRA taught me how to be a world class long range shooter.
Scouting taught me to figure out how to survive in any environment.
My little brother is now a scout master and teaches the kids all the traditional camping skills.
Pretty sure that more kids would be attracted to scouting if it was coed.
Camping with condoms sounds good to me.
People still join these organizations?
Boy Scouts is still fairly popular around here, and one of my employees has a daughter who's in Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts are always popular at cookie time.
I've not had a single GS cookie since my girls departed that racket back in the early 2000s..... I can remember being out with them in sub-zero weather just to be the first out to sell.
No Thin Mints for decades? Say it ain't so
Used to make myself sick on Butternut Roundups.
I found single malt a better option..... especially when it's cold outside!
Suing the Boy Scouts for doing what society demanded, becoming more inclusive? Huh? Who could have seen that coming?
I do hope though that the Girl Scouts don't discontinue those delicious thin mint cookies as retribution....
Actually, the suit is about the BS 'misrepresenting' themselves and pilfering GS membership by disguising their name.
And yet there has been no legal proof of that offered.
The Girl Scouts filed a motion to bar the BSA from using the terms “scouts” and “scouting” in its recruitment of girls. Which will likely be thrown out on the basis that "scouting" and developing "scouts" is precisely what they do whether those scouts are male or female.
All that BSA did was change the name of their 11-17 year-old program to Scouts BSA (removing the preceding term "Boy" which might falsely indicate it is only for boys), and the Cub Scouts program name remained unchanged other than the fact that they both now allow girls. Arguing that the over 120,000 girls, or their parents, who signed up for those programs can't tell the difference between those programs and those of the GSA seems to be insulting at best.
Scouts Boy Scouts of America still has the term 'Boy' stashed in the acronym.
Indeed. That has been the legal name of their organization for over 100 years. So how is "Scouts BSA" misrepresenting, misleading, or even confusing to anyone? People said they wanted the BSA organization to be more inclusive so they removed the word "Boy" from their 11-17 yr-old scouting program and opened the program to girls to indicate that very intent. Leaving the "BSA" makes it clear to all that it is not to be confused with "GSA".
What solid legal ground does the GSA have in this matter? They are suing simply because they don't like the competition. Is that how it works? How about they offer a better product/service like the rest of us do rather than sue the competition?
Color me crazy, but I've always liked camping out with girls.
One of the best ways I know of keeping warm....!
It's certainly understandable why the Girl Scouts would be pissed.
Not everything needs to be fully inclusive. There are some benefits to be had in girls being with girls or boys with boys. That said, the girls of America still have a choice. They can be with just girls in the Girl Scouts, or if they so choose, they can be with both boys and girls in that other organization.
Apparently boys don't get a choice unless they "choose" to just not be scouts. That doesn't seem like much of a choice.
I wondered why they don't just merge the two.
I think a lot of people are actually seeking a setting where it's just kids of the same gender. Of course, contrary to what the founders of these organizations probably thought, that's not as cut and dried as they imagined.
These kids will be socializing and sometimes confiding in both adults and peers on some very personal issues. Many might feel uncomfortable doing that around the opposite sex. Also, if you think of scouting as a physical activity, like sports (and it often is), girls in the Girl Scouts might have more opportunity to shine without being outshined by bigger, stronger, faster boys. If scouting is seen as a tool for self-empowerment and esteem building, putting a girl in the Boy Scouts could sabotage that goal.
In all respects, I would prefer to let kids have a choice. I wonder if Boy Scouts has considered keeping some all-boys troops while integrating others as an option.
HERE , I believe, is the answer to that.
Interesting. Very cool. Thanks for that.