Change Comes to the Boy Scouts
As you may have heard, the Boy Scouts of America are changing their name to The Scouts, and are accepting girls for the first time in their 108 year history. Some viewed this news with alarm and dismay, but as a progressive, I saw this as something good.
I’ve felt for a long time that the root of many of the problems in our society is the fact that we separate children repeatedly by gender. Boys and girls are cordoned off from one another by wardrobe, by toys, and by organized activities. I believe that separating boys and girls fosters misunderstandings that lead to misogyny, violence and sexist behavior. At the very least, keeping boys separate from girls can lead to a lack of awareness and understanding of women’s issues.
I can see why high school and college athletics are often separated by gender. Having a boys team and a girls team levels the playing field and allows for greater participation. There is no reason, however, for nine year olds to be separated by gender when playing soccer or baseball. The physiques are too similar. Boys would benefit from playing alongside smart, articulate, cooperative girls. Girls would benefit from being exposed early on to boys’ aggression and competitiveness.
There has been much discussion in the media about the wage gap between men and women, how it forms and what to do about it. Some of this gap can be attributed to separations we made early on. The highest paid teacher at American high schools is often the football coach. And, the football coach is always a man, because girls don’t play football.
Participation in the Boy Scouts are a common experience for boys in the United States. (I was a Scout, once, though I dropped out after a few years.) Former Scouts populate our military academies, our government, and the boardrooms of corporations. Yet, women have been excluded from sharing in this collective experience. This could be another root of gender inequality in the military, government and in the business world.
Here’s a short list of men who were once Eagle Scouts, the top rank in the Boy Scouts of America: Rex Tillerson, Hank Paulson, Michael Bloomberg, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates. No woman has yet been able to join this fraternity, because there has never been a girl Eagle Scout before.
That’s why this change is so important. Young girls right now are starting out as Cub Scouts. They will be able to work their way up the ranks, all the way to Eagle Scout. I’m hopeful that this will open up doors later in life, that these girls, as women, will be on more equal footing, having been through this experience that is common to so many boys in the U.S.
There are many former Scouts among our police officers. I once went to a funeral of four police officers that were killed in the line of duty. All four had been Eagle Scouts. This had been a point of pride for the fallen officers and their families.
In recent years, the press has reported that police departments across the country have a huge backlog of untested rape kits. Advocates for women complain that police just don’t take these cases seriously.
I wonder if police investigators would take violence against women more seriously if they had, as children, spent more time with girls. If, as a boy, he had played soccer alongside girls. Or, as a Scout, he had worked with a girl to build a tent or gathered wood for a fire. These common childhood experiences could be the basis of empathy and mutual understanding.
What about the Girl Scouts? Should they change their names, too, and begin to accept boys? I think eventually they will. Both groups have strong traditions of civic duty and community service. A main focus of Boy Scouts has always been outdoor experiences like camping. Girl Scouts have, in recent years, focused on entrepreneurial skills. There is no reason these focuses should be gender specific. Girls can tie knots and start fires. Boys can make business plans and sell cookies.
We’re not going to eradicate the gender gap or violence against women overnight. This is a very long term plan. An isolated girl in a troop of boys probably won’t make much of a difference. It will take many girls signing up to be Scouts over years and years to truly make a change. The effects of this gender mingling will not be known for decades.
This a small step in the right direction. It’s progress. If an organization as venerable and traditional as the Boy Scouts of America can make a change like this, I am hopeful for the country.
I’ve felt for a long time that the root of many of the problems in our society is the fact that we separate children repeatedly by gender. Boys and girls are cordoned off from one another by wardrobe, by toys, and by organized activities. I believe that separating boys and girls fosters misunderstandings that lead to misogyny, violence and sexist behavior. At the very least, keeping boys separate from girls can lead to a lack of awareness and understanding of women’s issues.
I can see why high school and college athletics are often separated by gender. Having a boys team and a girls team levels the playing field and allows for greater participation. There is no reason, however, for nine year olds to be separated by gender when playing soccer or baseball. The physiques are too similar. Boys would benefit from playing alongside smart, articulate, cooperative girls. Girls would benefit from being exposed early on to boys’ aggression and competitiveness.
There has been much discussion in the media about the wage gap between men and women, how it forms and what to do about it. Some of this gap can be attributed to separations we made early on. The highest paid teacher at American high schools is often the football coach. And, the football coach is always a man, because girls don’t play football.
Participation in the Boy Scouts are a common experience for boys in the United States. (I was a Scout, once, though I dropped out after a few years.) Former Scouts populate our military academies, our government, and the boardrooms of corporations. Yet, women have been excluded from sharing in this collective experience. This could be another root of gender inequality in the military, government and in the business world.
Here’s a short list of men who were once Eagle Scouts, the top rank in the Boy Scouts of America: Rex Tillerson, Hank Paulson, Michael Bloomberg, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates. No woman has yet been able to join this fraternity, because there has never been a girl Eagle Scout before.
That’s why this change is so important. Young girls right now are starting out as Cub Scouts. They will be able to work their way up the ranks, all the way to Eagle Scout. I’m hopeful that this will open up doors later in life, that these girls, as women, will be on more equal footing, having been through this experience that is common to so many boys in the U.S.
There are many former Scouts among our police officers. I once went to a funeral of four police officers that were killed in the line of duty. All four had been Eagle Scouts. This had been a point of pride for the fallen officers and their families.
In recent years, the press has reported that police departments across the country have a huge backlog of untested rape kits. Advocates for women complain that police just don’t take these cases seriously.
I wonder if police investigators would take violence against women more seriously if they had, as children, spent more time with girls. If, as a boy, he had played soccer alongside girls. Or, as a Scout, he had worked with a girl to build a tent or gathered wood for a fire. These common childhood experiences could be the basis of empathy and mutual understanding.
What about the Girl Scouts? Should they change their names, too, and begin to accept boys? I think eventually they will. Both groups have strong traditions of civic duty and community service. A main focus of Boy Scouts has always been outdoor experiences like camping. Girl Scouts have, in recent years, focused on entrepreneurial skills. There is no reason these focuses should be gender specific. Girls can tie knots and start fires. Boys can make business plans and sell cookies.
We’re not going to eradicate the gender gap or violence against women overnight. This is a very long term plan. An isolated girl in a troop of boys probably won’t make much of a difference. It will take many girls signing up to be Scouts over years and years to truly make a change. The effects of this gender mingling will not be known for decades.
This a small step in the right direction. It’s progress. If an organization as venerable and traditional as the Boy Scouts of America can make a change like this, I am hopeful for the country.
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