I learned two nuggets of wisdom during my four years as a Girl Scout: your toes will freeze if you sell cookies out of a wagon in the coldest days of winter and, no matter how hard you try, you will never sell enough boxes to earn the much sought-after lunch box. As an adventurous kid, I was always climbing trees and digging up worms or going “hiking” in the local forest preserve (in hindsight, following the bike path doesn’t count much as a hike). Eager to find an outlet for my wild side, my mother signed me up for Girl Scouts. However, the mundane meetings at the library or the school cafeteria didn’t satisfy my hunger for the outdoors. I remember the disappointment that flooded my 3rd-grade body when I found out my troop was earning our “camping” badge by staying in a cabin no more than a mile from my house in the suburbs of Chicago. Unfortunately, many former Girl Scouts I have met since my time in troop 817 have lamented similar experiences with the organization.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) recognized the lack of effectiveness in their female counterpart, which is reflected in their October 2017 decision to change their name to Scouts BSA and accept girls into their program. Even though many applaud the BSA’s bold decision to embrace equality in the twenty-first century, some, such as critic Mark Hancock, a writer for Fox News, refuse to see the potential for good. While Hancock argues that girls are not suitable for the BSA based on his misconception of the differences between boys and girls and his ignorance of the history of the program, the future of the BSA is still promising and will continue to shape and inspire scouts for years to come.
Hancock argues that the BSA made a mistake in opening up their troops to girls because of the fundamental differences between boys and girls. The BSA offers an appropriate environment to foster healthy development of respect, honor, and integrity in young boys. Not only would the “daring, action and competition” of Boy Scouts be inappropriate for young girls, but allowing girls to join the BSA would harm boys by compromising their opportunity to “just be boys” (Hancock). Overall, the recent shift in the BSA’s morals is out of line with the organization’s founding purpose from 1910.
Due to differing chromosomes, boys and girls are fundamentally different. This fact need not be disputed. However these differences are generalizations that do not hold true to every boy or girl. Just as there are many young boys that would despise the outdoorsy, rough nature of Boy Scouts, there are equally as many young girls eager to tie knots, do Navy Seal survival training and all the other “same cool stuff that [their brothers do] in Boy Scouts” (LaFlamme).
Beyond providing boys with fond childhood memories, the BSA has shaped many world leaders. Hancock correctly states that the the BSA forms “determined, focused, winning men of tomorrow” (Hancock). Nevertheless, he is omitting the fact that “women can now hold all combat roles in the military, and women have broken many glass ceilings at the top levels of government, business, academia and entertainment” (Ireland). The BSA opening its doors to girls is not to put young boys at a disadvantage, but rather to recognize the potential young girls have in their futures. By providing any child with the opportunity to reach the prestigious Eagle Scout status, a label which opens many doors to opportunities in college, the military, and the workplace, the BSA embraces young girls everywhere, instilling in them the confidence they may need to pursue the career they want.
By embracing young girls as they have young boys since 1910, the BSA is not shying away from its roots, despite the vastly popular view held by Hancock that the program has never strayed from their 108 year-old foundations. The BSA has not stayed true to one core set of values, but rather molded itself to the changing times. During periods of extreme racism and racial injustice, “the BSA expanded its efforts to recruit boys of color” (Honeck). Decades later, to inspire boys during the New Deal, “the BSA redefined its mission: to mold young citizens and youthful men robust enough to resist depression at home and dictators abroad” (Honeck). The BSA is not now changing its permanent roots, but rather acknowledging America’s current need for equality.
Of course there are other organizations that offer scouting opportunities to young girls; the most well known being the Girl Scouts of America (GSA). However, as my personal experiences have revealed to me, the GSA and BSA are not exactly parallel organizations. While the Boy Scout curriculum of fire safety, camping, community service, and cooking is uniform across the country, the Girl Scout curriculum is “very focused on what the leader’s strengths are” (LaFlamme). Despite the fact that more laid-back troops may be enjoyable to some Girl Scouts, the lack of structure and responsibility leave scouts like me disappointed and still hungry for adventure. While both the BSA and GSA attempt to find “the best way to raise an active, confident girl,” the two organizations have vastly different approaches (McCoppin). Many girls who fit the generalization of focused and reflective may better appreciate the GSA’s techniques. However, as the girls involved in the Boy Scouts in many other countries demonstrate, there are young girls who would benefit from the more enriching activities offered by the BSA (McCoppin).
Opening the door to female members of the BSA is not only beneficial to girls who wish to scout, but the boy members of the troops as well. Experiencing scouting in a coed environment leads to increased understanding and respect of the opposite sex. Spencer Windes, a former boy scout reflects upon his experience at a summer camp with female scout counselors, “young men are better when there are young women around” (Windes). Windes’ summer was surprisingly void of the typical bullying and tormenting of scouts who fail to live up to unrealistic standards of strength and “manliness.” Coed scouting fosters growth, rather than creating an environment where one’s masculinity is constantly questioned and tormented. While this was not the intended purpose of the BSA opening their scouting experiences to girls, it follows their mission of “getting children in touch with the young adults inside them through exposure to nature, labor in service, and the acquisition of practical skills” (Windes).
Despite the pessimistic views of critics like Hancock on the future of the BSA, I want all future scouts — boys and girls — to be assured that the progress made in recent months will better the program and develop future scouts who will go on to change the world.