I have noticed in the paper recently a few articles about how Girlguiding UK have been grooming girls into only caring about their appearance and how they have lost their 'values.' As a dedicated member of the organisation I can only say the opposite about the organisation which I am so proud to be a member of.
Girlguiding UK pride themselves on being modern and relevant to their members, and covering issues and topics which really affect them. In this day and age it is obvious that body image and beauty are going to play a part in girl's lives. The issue covered in most of these articles which have been published are mainly about the Glamorama pack for Guides (10-14 year olds.) The articles posted on some newspapers websites are simply talking about one element of the pack, a pack which aims to give girls a balanced view on beauty and looking after themselves.
Within the resource there are sections about make: applying it without using too much, but the most important parts of this specific pack (in my opinion) are the parts about boosting self confidence and being yourself- something which has been overlooked in any article. In today's media culture, most (if not all) images within the media are airbrushed, giving girls and young women an achieveable target for their beauty aims. The Glamorama pack helps girls understand about natural beauty and airbrushing, allowing them to understand that they may not be able to look like the women in glossy magazines, but that they are beautiful and that inner beauty is more important than external.
In 2010 members of Girlguiding UK spoke out about this issue and started a petition for the compulary labelling of all airbrushed images in the media. This was an issue raised by members as something they thought important enough to speak out about. The petition was launched at an event in August in 2010 and by November 2010 it had over 25,000 signitures on it and was presented to the Houses of Parliament. If Guiding was all about being beautiful, do you believe that girls would have raised this as an issue and wanted to act upon it?
The resource is just one part of a balanced programme provided by Girlguiding UK for this age group. Girls weekly experience a wide range of activities, from cooking to sports to learning about different cultures. The girls are encouraged to make their own decisions about the activities they undertake, giving them the opportunity to speak out and make a difference. In the last week my Guide Unit have been learning about different cultures through making kites for kite festivals as well as learning about film classifications and what they should/shouldn't be watching. Through Guiding girls also get the opportunity to try new activities from climbing to camping to sailing. The girls also get the chance to learn skills which former Guides will have learnt such as cooking to first aid- a skill which really could save someones life.
As well as simply being 'fun' Guiding can help girls learn about more difficult topics such as mental health - a topic which is often overlooked and seen as a taboo in everyday society. Girls get the opportunity through recources to learn about who can help if they have a problem or if they have one of these issues. They are also encouraged to develop self confidence through trying new activities and being encouraged to find things they like about themselves, rather than simply thinking about their outwards appearance.
So, before you believe all that you read in a newspaper, take a look at the websites of the groups involved- I could talk about how the Guiding programme for girls (5+) differs from the views a few newspapers have been publishing. Or if you want to see Guiding for yourself, why not get in touch with someone from your area and go along to a meeting, you'd be given a warm welcome and I believe that you would be amazed by the determination and enthusiasm for all projects and activities by today's girls and young women.
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