Regarding Hans Zeiger's girl scouts blog, thank God the Girl Scouts have come a long way. It is not 1912 anymore, and we should all be grateful that we are not being stifled by the sexual perversions and rampant gender oppression of the Victorian period.
As a literature and history student, I can report that these days were not a beneficial period for women. First, the Victorian era took place largely during the 19th century, from 1837 to 1900 (the time of Queen Victoria's reign). Girls who grew up during these days had few social or occupational choices. Technically, this means that the Girl Scouts came a bit after, but if the organization did grow out of the Victorian era, woe are we.
At that time, the Cult of True Womanhood reigned supreme among Western cultural ideologies and taught women that they should adhere to four ideals: piety, purity, submisiveness and domesticity. The overall lesson consisted of: prayers are good because they keep your weaker minds occupied; love affairs will bring insanity, poverty, and death; your role is to submit unquestioningly to God and your husband; the world at large is male, but the world of the female should consist of her home's four walls.
I sure as hell wouldn't want my daughter being instructed by a school of thought founded on such antideluvian theories. Today's Girl Scouts of America program espouses four principle goals for girls: developing self potential, relating to others, developing values, and contributing to society. Yep, those sound pretty threatening to me--after all, we wouldn't want any non-Christians or lesbian girls finding self-esteem and learning how to advocate for issues that affect their lives.
Coincidentally, the GSA hasn't made abortion, religious or sexuality issues the focal point of their political involvement. Recent activities have centered around "girls issues" like their views on volunteerism, their relationships to families and communities, and their thoughts on the world after 9-11. From this non-scout point of view, the GSA has wisely kept its values centered around its girls, striving to address the issues that are important to today's kids.
Social involvement, community building, and yes, even gender roles and sexuality, are big things for girls today. I know because I was one of them, and I'd rather have my daughter being taught how to navigate through this complex world by a time-honored group of female leaders than relegate her to the ranks of stifled Victorian women. There's a reason Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft spent most of their lives screaming on behalf of their silenced sisters--I don't think we want to return to that.
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