Girl Scouts may sell cookies, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re all sugar.
The organization’s leadership, at least, has shown that the Scouts aren’t pulling any punches when it comes to recruiting new members. In a scathing letter first obtained by BuzzFeed, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) national president Kathy Hopinkah Hannan accused Boy Scouts of America (BSA) of “surreptitiously testing the appeal of a girls’ offering to millennial parents” and of making “disparaging and untrue remarks” about Girl Scout programming.
Hannan’s letter also called BSA “reckless” in “thinking that running a program specifically tailored to boys can simply be translated to girls” and argued that “single gender programming” is the best way to create a “safe place for girls to learn and thrive.” She accused the organization of deviating from its stated mission of creating a similar place for boys and called its venture into co-ed programming “inherently dishonest.”
In a statement to Fortune, a GSUSA spokesperson writes:
“Girl Scouts made numerous attempts to engage B.S.A. in an open and transparent dialogue about their intentions, and have always been more than willing to work with B.S.A. to determine how best to serve today’s youth. Despite these challenges, Girl Scouts maintains the utmost respect for the Boy Scouts’ leadership and look forward to working out these issues with them in a mutually satisfactory manner.”
A BSA spokesperson confirmed to BuzzFeed that “Boy Scouts has been exploring the benefits of bringing Scouting to every member of the family—boys and girls,” but that “no decisions have been made.”
The Girl Scouts expanded their own programming in July, announcing 23 new badges, 15 of which are related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
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The merits of single-gender education have been hotly debated for decades. Some education specialists argue that separating the genders makes for fewer distractions and allows teachers to tailor methodologies based on girls’ and boys’ inherently different learning styles. Others believe that in being surrounded only by members of their own gender, students miss out on a diversity of perspectives and are at a disadvantage in the long run—as they will undoubtedly have to deal with the opposite sex at some point in their lives.
Still others say it makes no difference whatsoever.
