California Girls Boy Scouts: Girls Fighting To Be Allowed To Join All Boys Organization, What Does Title IX Say? Should They Be Allowed To Join? [Video]
A group of girls in California are making it clear that they want to be members of the Boy Scouts. Gender issues have been occurring all over the country this year and the Boy Scouts are not immune to the fact that girls want to be part of an all boys organization. The reasoning behind why this group of girls want to join the Boy Scouts is not due to gender inequality. They simply want to do the activities that the boys do instead of selling cookies in the Girl Scouts. Issues regarding gender have begun to change. We are seeing locker rooms and bathrooms in certain areas becoming open to both genders. The Boy Scouts have even changed their stance on having homosexual men be in charge of other boys.
The group of girls that are trying to join the Boy Scouts range in age from 10- to 13-years-old. They have named their group the Unicorns. The Boy Scouts have been an all male organization for over a century. The Boy Scouts pride themselves as being an organization that helps boys become productive and good men when they grow up. The girls have made their intentions clear, though. They do not have a gender identity issue. They do not wish to go from being female to becoming male. They want to be part of the Boy Scouts in order to do the activities that the Boy Scouts do. One of the girls, Ella, talks about why she wants to be in the Boy Scouts.
“Because we’re girls we can’t participate with boys? When we get into the real world, we’re going to have to work with other people who are, like, not just girls.”
These girls in California want to become Boy Scouts https://t.co/XnPWIOdZxT pic.twitter.com/zJfN7U3wdv
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 22, 2015
The issue of gender inequality stems from what is said in Title IX. Title IX is a law that makes it illegal to discriminate against any person based on their gender. There is an exemption in Title IX, though. That exemption being the Boy Scouts. According to the law, the Boy Scouts can discriminate based on gender and not allow females into their organization. An email was sent out by the national Boy Scouts organization.
“We understand that the values and the lessons of scouting are attractive to the entire family. However, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are year-round programs for boys and young men.”
The girls that call themselves the Unicorns have been members of the Girl Scouts. The Unicorns did not feel the Girl Scouts fulfilled what they wanted to do. The activities done in the Girl Scouts are different than the ones in the Boy Scouts. Nikki Van Ausdall, a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts, feels that the Unicorns are wrong about the Girl Scout experience.
“Outdoor experience has really always been a hallmark of what we do. If they want to come back to join us, we’re thrilled to have them.”
Parents of boys who are in the Boy Scouts are voicing their opinions on this issue. Jennifer Masterson commented on the idea of boys and girls being together while camping.
“I have sons. Would I want a girl sleeping in my son’s tent? No.”
Randy Huffman, a scout leader, feels very similar to Masterson.
“Maybe their approach should have been to go to the Girl Scouts and say: Instead of painting our nails and clipping our — whatever they do — to do archery and do climbing. Going through that process.”
The girls in the Unicorns attended a meeting on November 13 at the local Boy Scout headquarters. The men told the girls that they would not be admitted into the Boy Scouts, but they would forward their request to the national headquarters.
Do you think these girls in California should be allowed to join the Boy Scouts?
[Image Via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
