LARCHMONT, N.Y. - While the Boy Scouts have stumbled from one controversy to another, Girl Scouts locally and nationally are prospering.
National membership in the Girl Scouts of the USA has hit a 20-year high of 2.8 million, with 11 percent of all available girls signed on as Scouts.
And the organization is increasingly retaining girls as they enter their teen-age years, a traditional dropout point.
It has done so, in part, by offering rugged adventures such as mountain climbing, as well as internships and travel opportunities. One troop here in Westchester County recently went to Kenya.
No controversy
But the Girl Scouts have also steered clear of the controversies surrounding sexual orientation and religion that have dogged the Boy Scouts of America in recent years.
The Boy Scouts' position on homosexuality - that gay members are not welcome - has cost that organization funding and members.
And troop leaders say the Girl Scouts, traditionally known for the three C's of crafts, cookies and camping, has evolved into a thoroughly modern organization. It has formed an implicitly feminist message by plugging into contemporary issues and trends, while maintaining its traditional values.
Years ago, there was a badge for 10- to 17-year-olds called matron housekeeper, which instructed girls in using a vacuum cleaner and identifying cuts of meat.
Its counterpart today is a Ms. Fix-It badge, for junior Girl Scouts, ages 9 to 11. To earn the badge, girls need to be able to repair a leaky toilet and replace a broken window pane, among other things.
Sexual orientation
For its part, the Girl Scouts do not prohibit lesbians from becoming members or leaders. Whether heterosexual or homosexual, members and leaders may not promote a particular sexual orientation or display any sexual behavior.
As for religion, a member can substitute her own word for God in the Girl Scout promise. If a girl were an atheist but was still comfortable reciting the Girl Scout promise, the organization "would not conduct an inquisition about what was behind that," said Sharon Woods Hussey, senior vice president of membership, program and research for Girls Scouts of the USA.
In November, the Boy Scouts ejected an Eagle Scout after he had proclaimed himself an atheist. Even some Boy Scout leaders in Westchester wish their organization acted more like the Girl Scouts with regard to a Scout's sexual orientation or religion.