The Boy Scouts Will Now Allow Girls To Participate In Their Programs Nationwide

For years, The Boy Scouts of America has been a group that many parents sent their young sons into to learn leadership, discipline and survival techniques before they “go off into the world.” But, for years, this has been an organization that completely shut out an entire half of the world’s population – young girls. Who says that young girls don’t need to learn these vital skills that impact and help us navigate the world and society, anyway? Do men need to be the only ones who lean “survival techniques?” I think not.

That’s why it’s great news to know that on Wednesday, the organization announced that they will begin allowing girls to enroll in their Cub Scouts programs starting in 2018. As well, they will incorporate a program for older girls – much like the one they already have in place for older boys.

To make matters, even more, ~wonderful~, girls will be able to earn the much anticipated and desired rank of “Eagle Scout,” that most boys try their entire lives to receive. Groups in the cub’s scouts program can opt to remain single gender or, have a co-ed gender party.

Although this is one giant step towards equality amongst the genders – there is an organization for Girls Scouts that already exists, founded in 1912, two years after The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was founded (1910, do math peeps). Apparently, the inclusion of girls into BSA has hit a nerve with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). People on the board at GSUSA believe that BSA is only including girls because they are “financially struggling” and are trying to steal away the competition and make more earnings by including both girls and boys.

SUSA President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan wrote in a letter to BSA:

I formally request that your organization stay focused on serving the 90 percent of American boys not currently participating in Boy Scouts … and not consider expanding to recruit girls.

Ouch.

It seems as though a lot of people online agree with President Hannan –

https://twitter.com/SamayaGirl/status/918204886638055426

https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/918311191985786882