Be prepared to have your pronouns ready - it's the new-look Scouts.
The Scouts have been encouraged to use gender-neutral language and to drop the terms “mum and dad”.
Members have been encouraged to guide children through a card game called “Pronoun Pairs”, which has been devised as a way of teaching them about gender identity.
The game uses the character of “Billy the Butterfly” who is “non-binary” to introduce LGBTQI+ concepts to children.
The game, which has been branded “indoctrination” by critics, coaches youngsters to use gender-neutral pronouns, and a post-game reflection led by older Scouts suggests other ways in which language could be altered.
This suggests “using ‘sibling’ rather than ‘brother or sister’, ‘everyone’ instead of ‘ladies and gentlemen’ or ‘boys and girls’”.
It adds: “You could use ‘parent’, ‘carer’ or ‘grown-up’ rather than ‘mum and dad’.”
Children are encouraged to use pronouns like “ze/zir” and “they/them” instead of gendered pronouns.
Young Scouts are also taught what to do if they “misgender” someone by using the wrong pronouns, with guidance for the game starting: “It’s important to acknowledge your mistake by apologising and correcting yourself.”
A guide to the Pronoun Pairs game, on the Scouts website, advises adults: “By taking part in this activity and learning about pronouns, we can celebrate the inclusion and diversity we’re so proud of. “
The game itself is played by turning over cards which depict Sam the dog, who uses “he/him” pronouns, Leslie the ladybird, who uses “she/her” pronouns, and non-binary Billy, who uses “they/them” pronouns.
When the cards are turned, children must form a sentence about the character in question using their preferred pronouns, with an example given for Billy as “they ate a sandwich”.
Or, perhaps, "they can fuck right off".
Here we are - Pronoun Pairs:
Learn about pronouns, gender neutral language, and what to do if you misgender someone in this quick card matching game.
To show respect for people, we need to use the pronouns that they feel most comfortable with. By respecting someone’s pronouns, we make feel people included and remind people that they’re loved and accepted for who they are. We can also show support to the LGBTQ+ community by being non-judgemental, avoiding assumptions, being accepting of everyone, challenging language misuse, and reporting any homophobic or transphobic bullying to an adult.
Next to the lovely new Pride-friendly Scouts Logo:
Comments