So recently the Boy Scouts of America announced that the organization would be changing its name to Scouts BSA to reflect the addition of girls to the organization.

Keeping in mind that girls have already been allowed to join Cub Scouts and older girls have been able to participate in programs like Venturing which used to only be for Boy Scouts. The name change represents how girls will now be able to join the organization at any rank including being able to become an Eagle Scout.

Since this announcement I’ve seen a lot of social media posts about how girls should just join Girl Scouts and how this is a bad thing. Which I think is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I was a Girl Scout. I liked being a Girl Scout. But here’s the thing. Girl Scouts is not Boy Scouts for girls. They are completely separate organizations with complete separate programs where you learn and do completely different things.

It’s like when a girl wants to play baseball and not softball. Those are two similar but also different sports. Both are typically gendered, both involve a ball, a bat and three bases and yet there are differences. There are different rules, the bases are different distances apart, the balls are different sizes, the pitching style is different, I could go on and on. are the same way, Boy Scout and Girl Scouts are the another example, similar but also different.

Let me repeat that, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. They’re not. Which is why having girls in Boy Scouts is awesome. And why Girls Scouts should have boys join. Everyone should be allowed to learn the things they want to learn and build on their individual interests. And in order to do that, they should be allowed to join the organization that addresses those interests. For some girls, that may be Girl Scouts and for other girls, it could be Boy Scouts. Who cares what the name is?

What matters is that kids of all ages can do something they’re passionate about through whichever organization they want. So don’t you dare tell a girl that she doesn’t belong in Boy Scouts because Girl Scouts exists. It’s not the same. How about we let them decide which organization they want to join.

P.S. Hey Girls Scouts of America, time to step it up and let some boys in. That would be cool.