Childhood Social Activities

The Boy Scouts of America site reviewed for this project at http://www.bsa.scouting.org/programs/18-074 is no longer active. The newest version of the Boy Scout site replicates many of the observed traits, however, and may be useful for comparison purposes.
Just for Girls

According to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts home site:

In 1909, the first Boy Scout rally was held at Crystal Palace in London, and the founder, Lord Baden-Powell, was taken aback when a number of girls attended, proclaiming themselves to be girl Scouts. He decided that if they wanted to join in, they should have their own name and Movement, and a programme suited to their needs. (WAGG 1998)

The result was 'The Scheme for Girl Guides' which appeared in the November 1909 issue of the Boy Scout Headquarters' Gazette. Today, the Girl Guides/Girl Scouts Association continues to thrive and grow. Nearly ten million girls and young women are members, in 136 Member Organizations worldwide. The Boy Scouts of America, an entirely separate organization, claim a national membership of 5 million. (WAGG 1998)

While there seems to be some blurring between international organizations, the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America, as displayed on their respective homepages- are distinctly separate entities, with specific message delivered to their visitors.

While the Boy Scouts of America ( site attempts inclusive language ("youth", "young people" "Explorers", "Scouts") the Girl Scouts are blatantly exclusionary: their "Just for Girls" site is clear about its audience: this is not for boys. "Girls on the Go", "Girls ask How", "Girl Space", --with all seven homepage links title "Girl…" . How these pages are actually defined as "non-boy" is unclear: they contain many of the same interests and activities as the Boy Scout pages, with sports and outdoor activities emphasized on both sites.

The Boy Scout site makes striking use of Norman Rockwell paintings for backgrounds, muted khaki borders, vivid photographs, no animation and very few icons, beyond the traditional symbols attached to scouting itself. The historical page is beautifully designed, the News sections is full of current statistics and the layout of the site (even with NO email links whatsoever) is dignified and interesting- but NOT aimed at children. The references to gender are subtle: girls are allowed in the 14-18 year old Explorer program, where the members are referred to as "young people." But elsewhere the rest is clear: " The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America, incorporated on February 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916, is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character , to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness." The only non-textural content on the BSA site is under "Family Fun", which contains a clever semaphore game, a Morse code sampler, a state flag identifying drill and a weather-predicting game. The Boy Scout Page, while creatively designed and graphically elaborate, contains no response mechanism at all- not one live email link occurs. All links on this page are self-referential. This handsome site is clearly to be seen--but not responded to.

While the Boy Scout page is definitely aimed at an adult reader, the Girls Scout page is aimed at girls. The Just for Girls site is a relative circus by comparison with the Boy Scout site, with pen pals, advice columns, sports quizzes, pages on crafts, poetry, Web page design, space, water and sports science, among several dozen others. The Girl Scout page is as modern and child-targeted as the Boy Scouts are not: bright colors, animated icons, few references to adults, lots of active cartoon girls doing active things- The home page, (the only area addressed to adults at all) stresses the " Girl Scouting today provides a safe, supportive way for girls to participate in projects involving computers and technology, careers, the environment, personal finance and sports."

Despite their widely indexed names, these two organizations have very different goals in these pages: the Boys Scouts are recruiting adults at their site. The Girls Scouts are recruiting girls. The difference in target audience was more striking in this subject area than the specific gender references. The lack of overlap between these two American organizations was remarkable, considering the unique possibilities that might emerge if they were coordinated.

BEREAVEMENT

SPORTS/RECREATION

CHILD CUSTODY

CANCER SURVIVAL

CHILDHOOD ACTIVITY

Each site was analyzed using a spreadsheet constructed of major points in the Sun MicroSystems "Writing for the Web" checklist (See Appendix B for the site analysis spreadsheet found here) The sites were compared on the basis of content (purpose, audience, technical specificiations, interactivity and theme) and design elements (layout, graphics, text, effects and navigation.) The results by topic are detailed below.

Last Updated: April 1999
Copyright © 1999 Tami Sutcliffe
All rights reserved.
Watercolours by Manette Fairmont: "Tuscany" 15x15 and "Field of Angels" 15x15
Courtesy of Left Coa

Last Updated: April 1999
Copyright © 1999 Tami Sutcliffe
All rights reserved.