45
DiscussionGenderwoo = the Satanic Panic?
One of my deepest areas of fascination is the 1980s Satanic Panic, which began by parents becoming convinced that their children's daycare was being secretly run by a cabal of Satanic pedophiles. This belief catapulted itself into mainstream American thought. Doctors, law enforcement, social workers, psychologists, and other authorities believed the lies that America was full of Satanic ritual abuse underground societies. They used slogans like "Believe the children" and "children don't lie" while using junk science and manipulative interviewing techniques to convince children and parents of Satanic abuse that literally never happened. There's a lot more to it, and I recommend those unfamiliar take a look. The general attitude from those my age who were only young children when this was going on is "what was everyone thinking? How could they have been so deluded?" Do you all think in a few decades everyone will the same way about transing kids? Here's what really gets me--for different reasons, but both the Satanic-panic-influenced Bible belters of my childhood and TRAs of today hate JK Rowling!
When you say brownie are you talking about the girls scouts ?
Yeah, it was the entry-level rank for Girl Scouts, starting at 5 IIRC?
In the UK, it’s the 7-10 level of Girl Guides, and it’s the level that the highest proportion of British women have been involved in at some point.
Rainbows are 5-7. Guides are 10-14.
There’s a lot to like about Guides and the whole movement, but the Brownie story and the messaging around it in Brownies is female socialisation writ big. Cubs (Cub Scouts, the equivalent now for all children, then just for boys) “Do Your Best”. Brownies, in those days, “Lend a Hand”.
You're remembering correctly.