This was me, aged seven or eight, fully decked out as a turd and being made to stare into the blinding rays of the sun. I hated Brownies with a passion and the group leaders didn't like me either. I kept asking questions a young lady shouldn't be asking; "Why should I want to get a badge for doing stuff that I don't like doing?" "Why should I want to help my mother around the house and not want to help my dad?" "Why do all the girls with all the right badges and stars and bars act like self-righteous little bullying twats?" Ok, maybe not worded quite like that but I do remember thinking stuff along those lines. I also remember wondering why I shouldn't be asking these questions.
So that was one of my few forays into social conformity; it didn't take. ;-)
I'm still asking those same questions and everybody's looking like I'm retarded. So I know excatly what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteOn the another hand, you look sooo nice uniform. Still have it? :)
I went to Brownies once, just the once. I was desperate to go, my brother had loads of fun in the scouts so I thought it would be the same. I wanted one of those yellow sprite badges, I think they gave me a green elf or something equally not right.
ReplyDeleteThey danced round a toadstool and sand silly songs. I hid behind the upright piano and laughed at them. The also learned about exciting things like helping mum with the vacuuming. Hah. My parents didn't really conform to the standard girl/boy allocation of activities so that was plainly a nonsense to me. Where were the treasure hunts that the scouts did?
They didn't really want me to go back...
Even in the 1980s they were doleing out points for helping mummy with the housework!
Yep.... deep sense of uncomfortableness and unease about that pic. No child should be made to undergo that kind of humiliation.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, as little shits go you were a super cute little shit. ;-)
I hear ya, prkl and thank you but no, I don't have the uniform anymore, lol! But I do have the badges I earned; one with a dog on it, a campfire and gnome of some sort. I feel sooo accomplished!
ReplyDeleteMy folks weren't like that either Mog (surprisingly). My bestfriend for much of my childhood was Mark who lived across the road and I found being only around girls very weird. I still do; I'm a misogynist. ;-)
Am I scaring you Neil? ;-)
In defense of my parents (that's not a phrase I use often), I begged and begged them to let me join.
BTW, prkl... where'd your blog go to?
ReplyDeleteTeeheehee! That's a quality pic of a wee girlie jobby.
ReplyDeleteI once peed myself at cubs. I was only 6, and was sitting on a wooden floor. It all kinda seeped out from under me cos i was too scared to ask for the toilet cos i was Scottish and this was in England and everyone would laugh at the way i spoke.
Aaaah....thank you for letting me expunge that from my psyche, Ms TB.
Nuked my blog but made 3 new ones. Check my profile.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that I could be of help there, Naldo.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what a 'helping a bloke expunge an embarrassing urinary incident from his psyche' badge might look like. pmsl! ;-)
Ok prkl... found them! Will update me blogroll, AGAIN. ;-)
OMG! Check out that uniform! What a hoot. I had the green one as a Junior Girl Scout. Must not have been my thing either as I don't remember much about it.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest daughter had a Brownie leader just like the ones you may of had. So bad, that by the time my next daughter came along I decided to be a co-leader. I have to say - it wasn't my cup of tea, either!
ReplyDeleteJust stopping in to say hi from Bogey's blog!
Yeh!! another kindred spirit who hated brownies. I couldn't stand it. I used to sit on the front porch of my house after school hoping that if I walked in the house late I wouldn't have to go to the brownie meeting.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to join Pioneer Girls or Job's daughters but my mom thought that every decent Canadian girl should be a brownie and don't even get me started with my experience in Guides....augh!!
Anyways, I survived the stupid 'twit twit twoo'rituals, the corny badges, and making useless crafts with egg cartons. I found the girls cliquish and the leaders too intense about the freaky uniform. To this day I hate wearing brown:)
Brownie trauma. You should sue.
ReplyDelete'twit twit twoo'... omg, I had forgotten all about that!
ReplyDeleteBrownie trauma is right, Benjamin. I think the only thing worse was Phys Ed!
I am so relieved by all you fellow anti-Brownies. We should have a convention.
I didn't do Brownies but did do GFS - Girld' Friendly Society - which was allied with the Anglican Church in Australia. Similar to Brownies but with that extra twist!
ReplyDeleteNeither of my kids were joined into anything that required a uniform other than schooling. Dampens the spirit and warps the character.
Nice blog conversations you hold here ...
Yep Julie, you'll find they can run and run on here....
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, can I be the first in quite some time to mention the word 'penis'?
Thank you.
Yes, it's been a long time since I've had any penis on the blog; thanks for bringing that up, Neil!
ReplyDeleteAny time mtb, any time.
ReplyDeleteI've held back from mentioning the erectile qualities of your title image
ReplyDelete