Girl Guides (orGirl Scouts[disputed –discuss][citation needed] in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within theScout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation ofThe Girl Guides Association in the United Kingdom, following which, similar girl-only organisations were formed in other countries.[1][2] Many girls and some organisations preferred to use the name Girl Scouts.[3]
For the history of the Scout Movement including Girl Scouts, seeScout Movement.
For the history of The Girl Guides Association of the United Kingdom (formed 1910), seeGirlguiding.
Following the popular spread of theScout Movement, girls joined with Boy Scouts or formed themselves into patrols of "Girl Scouts".[1] Many Girl Scouts registered with the Boy Scout headquarters. In 1909, there was aBoy Scout rally at Crystal Palace in London. Among the thousands of Scouts at the rally were several hundred Girl Scouts, including a group of girls fromPeckham Rye who did not have tickets to the event and asked to be allowed to join-in.
Eerste Nederlandsche Meisjes Gezellen Vereeniging (First Dutch Girls Companions Society), 1911, first Dutch Girl Guides
The Guide International Service (GIS) was established by theGirl Guides Association in the UK in 1942, with the aim of sending teams of adult Guides into Europe afterWorld War II to aid with relief work.[12][13]
A total of 198 Guiders and 60 Scout leaders from Britain, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand and Russia served in teams.[14][15] Working withUNRRA and the Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad, the GIS sent a number of teams to various parts of occupied Europe including Greece,the Netherlands and Germany, as well as Malaya. Notably members of team RS/107 were among the first civilians to enter theBergen-Belsen concentration camp.[16]
Alison Duke, classical scholar, served with RRU7 in Egypt and Greece.
Elizabeth Hartley, vice-chair of the 20th World Conference, leader of the RS/158 training team.
Sue Ryder, was initially a member of RS/159b and later one of the final serving solo volunteers.
Lady Marjorie Stopford, South Hertfordshire Division Commissioner, also served with RRU7 in Egypt and Greece.
Rosa Ward, was chairman of the Guide International Service committee for its entire duration.
The work of the Guide International Service influenced the World Chief GuideOlave Baden-Powell to return to Britain, having emigrated to Kenya with her latehusband prior to the war.[18]
There has been much discussion about how similar Girl Guide programs should be to Scout programs for boys. While many Girl Guide organisations have sought to follow similar practices as Scout organisations for boys, some Girl Guide organisations have sought to avoid simply copying or mimicking the activities of Scout organisations for boys. In 2012,Julie Bentley, Girlguiding chief executive in the United Kingdom described the Girl Guides as "the ultimatefeminist organisation".[19]
Even after most Scout organisations became mixed-sex and some Girl Guide organisations merged with Scout organisations for boys, some Girl Guide organisations remained sex-separated to provide a female-centred program. For example, Girlguiding in the United Kingdom remains limited to girls.
Transgender girls are admitted to units in some organisations.[20][21][22][23] Transgender women are also allowed to become leaders in some countries, including the UK.[20]
Elements common to all Guide organisations are:[3]
The Guide Promise – Girls become Guides by making their Promise. Each Girl Guide organisation has its own promise, but historically all have the same three parts: duty to God or to your beliefs, duty to your country, and keeping the Guide Law. Many Girl Guide organisations are moving towards non-religious Promises.[24][25]
TheGood Turn – Each Guide tries to do a kind thing for someone else, without payment and without being asked, every day.[26]
The trefoil badge – This can be worn on uniform or ordinary clothes. The three leaves of thetrefoil stand for the threefold Promise. The vein in the centre is a compass needle, pointing the way and the two stars stand for the Promise and the Law. The colours stand for the golden sun shining over all the children of the world, from a blue sky. This badge is a guiding symbol that can be recognized all over the world.[26]
The Guide world flag – This is in the same colours as the trefoil badge and can be carried or flown by any Guide. It is often used as a unit flag. The three yellow blocks represent the threefold Promise and the white corner represents the commitment to peace of all Guides.[26]
The Guide Sign – The three fingers stand for the three parts of the Promise. The Guide sign is used when making or renewing the Promise and can be used when meeting other Guides. It may also be used when receiving a badge or at the end of meetings.
TheMotto – "Be Prepared" – This means that Guides are ready to cope with anything that might come their way.[26]
Theleft handshake – This is the way Girl Guides greet each other. The left hand is used because it is the one nearest the heart, symbolizing friendship. Additionally, warriors held their shield in the left hand, so putting down one's shield to shake with one's left hand means that they are vulnerable, making it a display of both bravery and trust.[26]
World Thinking Day – On February 22 each year, Guides think of their Guide sisters all around the world. The date was chosen at a World Conference because it was the birthday of both the Founder and the WorldChief Guide.[27]
The World Centres – There are five World Centres in different parts of the world:Our Chalet in Adelboden, Switzerland;Pax Lodge in London, England;Nuestra Cabaña in Cuernavaca, Mexico;Sangam in Pune, India; andKusafiri which moves around Africa.[28]
The WorldChief Guide –Olave Baden-Powell (1889 - 1977), wife of the founder, Robert Baden-Powell, is the only person to have been World Chief Guide.[6]
Two central themes have been present from the earliest days of the Girl Guides: domestic skills and "a kind of practical feminism which embodiesphysical fitness,survival skills,camping,citizenship training, andcareer preparation".[29] These two themes have been emphasized differently at different times and by different Girl Guide organisations, but have remained central to Girl Guides.
Individual organisation or other emblems may be found on the individual country's Scouting article.
Uniform is a specific characteristic of Girl Guide organisations. Robert Baden-Powell said uniform "hides all differences of social standing in a country and makes for equality; but, more important still, it covers differences of country and race and creed, and makes all feel that they are members with one another of the one great brotherhood".[30]
Baden-Powell's 1909 discussion paper,The Scheme for Girl Guides, proposed the following uniform:
Jersey of company colour.Neckerchief of company colour. Skirt, knickers, stockings, dark blue. Cap – redbiretta, or in summer, large straw hat.Haversack,cooking billy,lanyard and knife, walking stick or light staff. Cape, hooked up on the back. Shoulder knot, of the 'Group' colour on the left shoulder. Badges, much the same as the Boy Scouts. Officers wear ordinary country walking-dress, with biretta of dark blue, white shoulder knot, walking stick, and whistle on lanyard.[31]
Guide uniforms vary according to cultures, climates and the activities undertaken. They are often adorned with badges indicating a Guide's achievements and responsibilities. In some places, uniforms are manufactured and distributed by approved companies and the local Guide organisation. In other places, Girl Guides make uniforms themselves.
^Aickin Rothschild, Mary (Autumn 1981). "To Scout or to Guide? The Girl Scout–Boy Scout Controversy, 1912–1941".Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies.6 (3):115–121.doi:10.2307/3346224.JSTOR3346224.
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