As you & @higreg & @novium aid, it depends on the leader. And the other parents.
Back in the 90s, I took over my daughter’s Junior GS troop when their current leader had to have major surgery and would be out for over a year. They basically said, if someone doesn’t, the troop will be disbanded. Since the kid enjoyed scouting, I said yes.
It was a very girly-girl troop, with much emphasis on personal advancement and developing leadership potential through makeup and hair and cookie selling. Their troop held records for selling cookies. The week before I started, I was given an activities schedule for the next 3 months, with cosmetologists from salons coming in for hair care, skin care, and “Looking Your Best”, which I came to find out was with makeup.
When I suggested a camping trip after that (with some hands-on basic camping skill lessons) it was met with horror from the previous leader and most of the moms. I was allowed to do crafts (macrame plant hanger, holiday cards embellished with calligraphy and glitter), and then I inveigled another mom to take over when the kid got into the county honors orchestra and the schedule conflicted.
She really missed the makeup lessons, though. She went on to do vocational cosmetology, not because of GS but because she was and is a girly-girl, despite my attempts at a gender-neutral upbringing.
What you say about leaders and parent involvement is certainly true. Troops vary quite a bit.
I think the emphasis on appearance and crafts is just as much a product of the time period. After all, the 90’s was almost 30 years ago, and a lot has changed culturaly in the way we raise young women, and the things that we encourage. Thankfully outdoor activities are now more available and acceptable for women, even just in terms of gear.
The Journey book lessons I’ve seen around personal appearance focus on media literacy and consumption, and healthy self image. There are no GSU lesson plans that include make up and hair, though a troop could choose to focus on it.
And if they did, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that, generally speaking. As long as it’s not aimed at enforcing gender norms and making young women feel like their sole worth is their appearance.
Agreed. Make-up is actually part of my work, and it’s a skill that I enjoy and I’m proud of. But I don’t wear it every day, and when I discuss it with my kids I frame it as a fun enhancement that can be enjoyed- nothing more.
Edited to add:
It’s tough trying to keep things balanced these days, but we have to try!
I just realized how awesome a “scout makeup” lesson would be, regardless of gender. Maybe I’m a nerd, but when my wife and I got together, I devoured the couple books on makeup she had laying around the house. When she asked why, I answered “Because it’s something I don’t know anything about, and I’m kind of not supposed to, so of course I’m fascinated by it!”.
For the kids that don’t want to learn to do “enhancement” makeup, you could teach “costume” makeup. If you sold it correctly, you’d actually get a lot of buy-in:
“Boys, girls, doesn’t matter. Every Hollywood star you’ve idolized, every sports star on a poster, and honestly pretty much every YouTube star out there wears makeup. You can use it in theater, you can use it to cover up a zit, you can use it on camera, you can use it on Halloween to make a perfect killer costume. Makeup. Is. For. Everyone!”
Ever since this went live, I’ve been playing with the idea of actually getting together a den for my daughters and their friends. Nothing serious yet, but if I run it by other parents and get a lot of interest, can I bug you at some point for some resources on makeup and related skills?
