The Girl Guide Movement and Imperial Internationalism During the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

While most histories of Guiding and Scouting have focused on single national contexts, this article takes a broader approach by discussing the early history of the Guide movement in England, Canada and India. It asks how the Girl Guide movement’s ideology and programs were affected by the imperialism and internationalism that characterized the 1920s and 1930s. The effects of imperial internationalism, the paper argues, were felt at the discursive level (through an emphasis on imperial and international sisterhood), on the organizational level (through bureaucratic changes leading to the formation of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts), in international gatherings, and in publications, personal correspondence, radio and cinema. However, Guiding’s varied attempts to create an egalitarian and interracial imagined community were limited by a number of factors, including economic constraints, Anglocentrism and a persistent belief in racial hierarchies.

Introduction: Geographies, Histories and Practices of Informal Education

“…The United Kingdom is not alone in its continued focus on young people's citizenship education, moral fortitude and leisure activities that are part of much wider global historical trends (for example, Gagen, 2000, on these themes in early twentieth century New York; Alexander, 2009, on imperial Canada and India through the lens of Girl Guiding; and Verschelden et al, 2009 on the internationalisation of youth work practices across Europe).…”

Guiding Canada's Girls Toward the Empire

“…43 This imperial connection evolved into internationalism in the 1920s, promoting peace and "League of Nations style diplomacy" through international camps and publications. 44 This change included international conferences that were led by Britain, and the goal of their internationalism was "[f]ostering friendliness, cooperation and good-will among girls across national and colonial boundaries." 45 Guiding began to emphasize this internationalism in the Inter-war Years in order to expand the program to girls around the world.…”

Youth against hunger: service, activism and the mobilisation of young humanitarians in 1960s Britain

“…35 Such statements not only echoed official discourses of trusteeship and colonial development, they also tapped into the long-standing connection between British youth and imperial service fostered in associational organisations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. 36 Even if it was not always the priority of YAH organisers, as the next section will illustrate, service overseas had a tendency to dominate parliamentary and press discussions about young humanitarians into the mid 1960s. Part of the reason VSO attracted so much attention -particularly when compared to the domestic activities of humanitarian youth committees -was because its champions promoted it as a diplomatic tool perfectly suited for an era of decolonisation.…”