SCOUT ME IN

Boy Scouts of America opening doors for both genders



CHANGING TIMES—This year, girls are able to take part in both Cub Scout and Boy Scout activities.

CHANGING TIMES—This year, girls are able to take part in both Cub Scout and Boy Scout activities.

For more than 100 years, Boy Scouts of America has provided members with a foundation in learning, adventure and community. Similar to the armed forces, age doesn’t matter—once a Scout, always a Scout. Boys who attain the vaunted Eagle rank share a bond for life.

But starting this spring, the “boy” in Boy Scouts will be in name only. The Texas-based organization announced in 2017 that it would allow girls into its ranks for the first time. Their new motto is “Scout me in.”

The changeover started last fall with Cub Scouts, the junior scouting branch for boys ages 5 to 11. This year, Boy Scouts became co-ed also. Girls can now achieve the organization’s highest rank, Eagle Scout—previously for boys only.

Geoff Gunn, scoutmaster for Agoura Hills-based Troop 127, said the change came after years of pressure from Scout families whose daughters wanted to learn the same skills as their brothers.

“My daughter wanted to be an Eagle Scout like her brothers. There are thousands of girls like my daughter, that work at Boy Scout camps around the country, teaching scouts. They want to be Eagle Scouts too,” Gunn said.

TOGETHER—Both boys and girls are invited to take part in Pack 3808 activities in Camarillo. Acorn file photo

TOGETHER—Both boys and girls are invited to take part in Pack 3808 activities in Camarillo. Acorn file photo

“My daughter is a Gold Award Girl Scout, but that’s not the same. (Girl Scouts) doesn’t do the same activities,” he said.

The transition has been underway for several years. Venturing, for example, is an activity open to 14- to 21-year-olds of either sex. Participants go camping, canoeing and rock climbing, among other activities.

The change began with girls being accepted at Cub Scout meetings. It’s common for parents to bring their daughters to the den meetings, where they are invited to participate in the evening’s events. But the girls’ achievements were never recognized the same as the boys’.

Elizabeth Reiter, a Simi Valley resident and mother of three, said she’s thrilled that her 5-year-old daughter will now be able to join her older brothers at their Cub Scout meetings. Reiter said it’s partly a convenience—she can take all of her kids to the same activities—and that she’s proud of the skills her daughter will be learning she decides to stick with Scouting.

Reiter, once a Girl Scout herself, said she thinks her daughter will learn more valuable life skills in the Boy Scouts.

“I feel like I did a lot more camping, more outdoorsy things and life-skills learning (in Girl Scouts),” Reiter said. “Most troops these days don’t necessarily promote those skills that I learned. I’ve heard they still hike, maybe do some camping here and there, but they’re more (about) arts and crafts.”

Despite their similar names, Girl Scouts of the USA is not affiliated with BSA.

Tammie Helmuth, chief executive for the Girl Scouts of California Central Coast in Ventura, said the organization isn’t threatened by the change and will continue to offer the same programs it always has.

“Girl Scouts is the best girl leadership experience in the world. Period,” Helmuth said. “Girl Scouts gives girls opportunities to take the lead in the world of science, technology, engineering and math through hands-on “learning by doing” in a girl-focused, girlled environment.”

Gender inclusivity

Boy Scouts was started as a program for boys in 1908 by British reconnaissance expert and war hero Robert Baden-Powell. The all-male program came to the U.S. in 1910. But times have changed and so has America’s traditional family structure.

Research shows that one-fourth of U.S. children younger than 18, or 26 percent, live with a single parent, usually the mother. That’s up from 9 percent in 1960, a study by Pew Research Center found.

Boy Scouts of America needed to change to accommodate the new family structure, Michael Surbaugh, the national organization’s chief executive told The Acorn.

“We believe it is critical to evolve how our programs meet the needs of families interested in positive and lifelong experiences for their children,” Surbaugh said in a news release.

But the move to include girls has left some observers scratching their heads. The name of the national organization will still be Boy Scouts of America, but its members will be known simply as Scouts.

The new, girls-only troops will spring into action as more females sign up. Gunn said Troop 127 is currently setting up a girl’s group under a different leader.

And not to worry: Parents concerned about co-ed camping have nothing to fear—on overnight trips the boys troops will be kept separate from the girls.

“People think that girls are invading the Boy Scout troops, which they’re not,” Gunn said. “They’re separate groups at this time. We feel that they need their separate time and the boys also agree.

“I conference with my (Scouts) all the time and they always tell me, ‘no, we like the fact that girls can be Eagle Scouts, but we don’t want a mixed group.’”

Hector Gonazalez contributed to this article.