The Boy Scouts is changing its name to Scouts BSA, and some men aren't happy.

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Conservatives declare ‘war on masculinity’ over the Boy Scouts changing its name

The organization's inclusion of girls has some people behaving like children.

Photo of Ana Valens 

Ana Valens

IRL

Posted on May 2, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 4:54 pm CDT

The Boy Scouts won’t be just for boys any longer, the organization announced last year, and on Wednesday, it unveiled its new name: Scouts BSA. But some conservative men fear that the taking the “boy” out of “scouts” and allowing girls to join is just another “war on masculinity.”

The name change will apply only to the Boy Scouts, the program designed for 11- to 17-years-olds, while parent organization Boy Scouts of America will hold onto its title; Cub Scouts, the program for 7- to 10-year-olds that already allows girls, will also keep its name.

“We wanted to land on something that evokes the past but also conveys the inclusive nature of the program going forward,” Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh told the Associated Press. “We’re trying to find the right way to say we’re here for both young men and young women.”

Scouts BSA will begin accepting young women next year, with teen boys and girls vying for the same merit badges. However, “units” will still remain divided based on gender. The move is partly to assure young women joining Scouts BSA can also become leaders within the organization, instead of suffering from a potential gender gap from young men taking charge of their troop.

With this shift toward equality, conservative men aren’t exactly happy. This is partly because girls are yucky, gross, and have cooties.

https://twitter.com/TheMarkPantano/status/991667650488127488

https://twitter.com/TrumpsDC/status/991671925595254784

Plenty of grown men on the internet seem to think “political correctness” is to blame. In reality, the Boy Scouts of America is losing members and it needs to bring in young girls to keep the program afloat.

But no, clearly feminism is what’s ruining the Boy Scouts.

https://twitter.com/JakeHighwell/status/991674825063190529

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Feminists and their allies, meanwhile, are getting a kick out of the conservative angst.

Former Girl Scouts stress that there are plenty of reasons why girls may want to join the Boy Scouts, too, including the fact that the Boy Scouts seemed to do cooler stuff, like hike and camp, instead of learning “etiquette.”

https://twitter.com/zoaves10/status/991685108984762369

Conservatives seem to think that ushering girls into the Boy Scouts will destroy the basic fabric of American society by mucking up gender roles. But more likely than not, it just means that girls will be able to get some really cool merit badges alongside their brothers.

H/T the Associated Press

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*First Published: May 2, 2018, 11:19 am CDT

Ana Valens

Ana Valens is a reporter specializing in online queer communities, marginalized identities, and adult content creation. She is a former Daily Dot staff writer. Her work has appeared at Vice, Vox, Truthout, Bitch Media, Kill Screen, Rolling Stone, and the Toast. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and spends her free time developing queer adult games.

Ana Valens