Activity scout merit badges?

[kengr]

I've got an idea for a meta-fiction set in T-America.

I don't think I'm up to writing the actual booklets for the badges, but a history and overview sounds about right.

Not sure what the *actual* names would be, but I expect that many would refer to them as "Girl 101" and "Boy 101".

Girl 101 started out as a couple of seperate ideas. First, a lot of T-girls needed/wanted to pick up "normal" girl mannerisms, behaviors and experiences.

Second, some dedicated tomboys realized as they got older that some of the girly stuff they'd rejected might come in handy on occasion.

The folks puttering around with both ideas eventually got connected and realized that it'd make sense to combine them into a single badge.

The Boy 101 badge probably had a somewhat different history, or it may have gotten sparked by the Girl 101 project.

Both badges have had complaints that they reinforce gender stereotypes. The usual answers are that some people want to follow the stereotypes and that isn't wrong, or that knowing the stereotype and *consciously* learning about it makes you better able to pick and chose which bits you want and which bits to reject.

Some folks have deliberately exaggerated various behaviors. Sometime to make a point, sometimes as parody. But for most, it's a matter of knowing what the expected behaviors *are* lets you chose whether or not to follow expectations or deliberately (as opposed to accidentally) break them.

Some aspects of Girl 101 have been likened to old-style finishing schools. Deportment, grace, etiquette, fashion, etc.

Some aspects of Boy 101 have been likened to boot camp, though that's a much bigger stretch.

But both deal with "proper" behavior *and* improper/informal behavior. After all, the goal is to be able to "fit in" (if they choose to) in all sorts of activities.

It was discovered early on that having the Scouts interact with younger children of their chosen gender was a useful tool. The younger kids tend to be more accepting and while they'd point out differences from the "expected" behavior, they weren't malicious about it.

It also gave experience with games and other activities the the Scouts had missed out on when they were growing up.

(I'm gonna stop here for now and await comments)

Comments

[alatefeline]

I kinda loathe the concept. There's meat there to work on, you could write something with that, I don't want to try to stop you.

But my lack of femininity as an autistic, afab, genderqueer person is an achievement, not something I missed out on. I had to fight to be a person who wasn't defined by the stereotypes. I didn't not learn them; I had to learn how to escape them. And I didn't escape them by being masculine, either. I think unbundling the skills traditionally associated with masculinity and femininity is far kinder and more productive than offering them as a couple of package deals. There are already plenty of gendered role models and settings in society. If I want to learn sewing and martial arts, I don't need them attached to the gender baggage.

Even for people who are a binary gender, I think Boy 101 and/or Girl 101 as concepts are demeaning. There isn't a required skill base to be a complete and worthwhile woman, man, or adult person.

Don't get me wrong! I think that it is super valuable to have the opportunity to explore what being a gender or genders means. I think it's awesome to acquire traditional skills and find community in ways that models, across generations or levels of achievement, being a good person within a certain gender and culture. I know there are a lot of people who have benefited from gender coaches and 'this is my shopping gal pal who knows about girly stuff' and so on. My partner is going to redo an important religious observance to get it in her correct gender.

But the idea of 101 as a course title is 'this is the underlying basics, and if you don't have this, you probably aren't ready.' I think what more people need is an 800-level discussion seminar in being their authentic selves with the shitton of experience and skill they already have as well as the things they want to learn - not entry-level gatekeeping.

And fyi, I'm not mad, I'm not hurt, I'm just passionately interested in the topic. Please tell me if I've cannonballed into the conversation too hard.

<3 and good luck with writing and thinking and everything.

[fayanora]

I agree with alatefeline. I also want to point out that if you're going for fiction in a Wikipedia (or other nonfiction-appearing) format, that's called demi-fiction. If that's not what you were trying to describe, my apologies.