As of this Wednesday, the Boy Scouts of America is now allowing girls to join their program, despite the Girl Scouts of America already existing. This is not the same issue as letting transgender boys into the Scouts program,which they announced earlier this year.

Since the beginning the programs have been segregated by gender, but that’s for good reasoning. The Girl Scouts are for Girls, the Boy Scouts are for Boys, both with different programs and morals.

The Boy Scouts have always leaned to a more conservative side, they only just lifted the ban on openly gay scouts in 2013 and in 2015 ended the ban on gay scout leaders.

There are even other scout programs, though unofficial, that are co-ed, with members of both genders.

The need for girls to be allowed into the boy scouts is completely non-existent, seeing as both genders have their own programs. There is a difference between wanting to identify as male and be a boy scout, and identifying as a girl, yet, for some reason, choosing to be in the boy scouts, despite the programs both being available.

This is not an issue of equality, the programs may have slightly different activities that are tailored to the gender of the scouts, but both still have programs. If the reason for allowing in girls is that the activities are different, then there should be a push to add those into the girl scouts program, rather than infiltrating the boy scouts due to personal preference. If a girl wants to, for example, learn martial arts or fishing, there is no need to take over the boys’ environment, they should work to make that a part of their own program, or join that separately outside of the scouts.

If the girl scouts started allowing in male members, I’m sure the reaction would be a lot different. It would become an issue of safety and assault, yet letting girls into the boy scouts is supposed to be empowering, and a sign of equality. 

With boys joining the girl scouts, there becomes the issue of bullying and being called “gay” or too feminine by their other male peers. While the girls would be empowered in the boy scouts, the boys would be frowned upon in the opposite situation. 

Boy Scouts says they will be allowing girls into their scout program starting next year, 2018.