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Source: media.npr.org
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The Boy Scouts ran into some very damaging controversy in the aughts after it refused to lift its ban on letting gay people either lead or join their program. Luckily, they’re jumping ahead of the next big discussion on inclusion — gender. The Boy Scouts have renamed themselves the Scouts BSA and are open to allowing girls to join. This follows after the efforts of one Sydney Ireland who was welcomed into her local Boy Scout Troop but not allowed to earn merit badges due to the official policy of not letting girls in.
The Scouts BSA will launch with the tagline “Scout Me In”, which is meant to appeal to both genders. Tatum and Ian Weird, a pair of brother-sister twins are looking forward to being the first brother-sister pair to join the Eagle Scouts.
Beyond that, although there was no official statement on this, one could also look at the renaming and act of inclusion as looking towards the future. As gender and the concept of it becomes more and more loosely defined, the Scouts BSA can avoid seeming overly discriminatory and as inclusive as a program of that ilk should be when the concept of non binary gender identities makes its way into the conversation.
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