The Girl Scouts Say You Shouldn’t Make Your Kids Hug Family Members… Because Rape Culture

According to the Girl Scouts, telling your daughter to give someone a hug is setting her up for a life of sexual abuse.

Have you ever insisted, “Uncle just got here—go give him a big hug!” or “Auntie gave you that nice toy, go give her a kiss,” when you were worried your child might not offer affection on her own? If yes, you might want to reconsider the urge to do that in the future.

Think of it this way, telling your child that she owes someone a hug either just because she hasn’t seen this person in a while or because they gave her a gift can set the stage for her questioning whether she “owes” another person any type of physical affection when they’ve bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life.

Giving Auntie that hug turned into giving that creep who bought you dinner a “favor” in the parking lot reeeeeal quick, didn’t it?

That’s where we are now, folks.

According to this:

The Girl Scouts of the USA has warned parents not to force their daughters to hug relatives at Christmas in case it creates intimacy issues later in life.

In a PSA that’s now been shared by almost 7,000 people on Facebook, it warned not to tell children to hug their aunts and uncles.

Doing so, it said, ‘can set the stage for her questioning whether she “owes” another person any type of physical affection when they’ve bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life.’

What the Girl Scouts seem to forget is that CHLIDREN ARE NOT DOGS. Humans, unlike dogs, are capable of complex understanding of situations. If a dog is told to sit for a treat, they’ll keep sitting for the treat. Humans are able to discern what the treat is, who is giving the treat, and whether or not sitting is appropriate at that time.

Humans are also capable of differentiating between hugging an aunt or uncle and having sex with some a-hole.

Isn’t that special?!

The article…

..Warned against saying ‘Uncle just got here – go give him a big hug!’ or ‘Auntie gave you that nice toy, go give her a kiss.’

Instead, it said, other forms of greeting – a high-five or an air kiss – can work just fine, but ‘it’s important that she knows she gets to choose which feels most comfortable to her.’

‘The notion of consent may seem very grown-up and like something that doesn’t pertain to children,’ Dr Andrea Bastiani Archibald, the Girl Scouts’ developmental psychologist, is quoted as saying.

‘But the lessons girls learn when they’re young about setting physical boundaries and expecting them to be respected last a lifetime, and can influence how she feels about herself and her body as she gets older.

Um… I’m pretty sure I grew up on “Go hug your uncle!” and “Give your grandma a big kiss!” SHOCKINGLY I grew up to know that my body is my own.

WOW! Kissing my grandma on the cheek?!?! IT’S A FREAKING MIRACLE I DON’T THROW MY GOODS AROUND LIKE A COMMON WH*RE.