Just as a man can never experience the struggles of a woman, there are some things that you’ll only hear about and never relate to. In 2019, I joined Boy Scouts… I am a girl. As soon as they allowed girls to join the organization, a wave of hate and negativity crashed down on girls like me. I read article, after article and comment after comment from people who hated the fact that girls were allowed in BSA. It felt personal, like they hated me. Some parents took their sons out of scouts after that and some stayed, glaring from a distance. I had never felt so out of place before, but I knew this is what I wanted to do and had my mind set on achieving Eagle Scout.
When I joined, I refrained from talking about it, but some things you can’t keep a secret. Early on, it was required that Scouts sell coupon cards, so I stood outside of Home Depot and did my best selling them. I will never forget the man who walked up to me and opened his mouth. I stood there, with a smile on my face, as he hurled insults at me. I began to wonder why people couldn’t just keep things to themselves. Oddly, I didn’t feel sad and my ego wasn’t bruised, I don’t think I registered what had happened. This was the first time one of those meaningless hate comments became a real person.
Throughout scouts, I had experienced my fair share of setbacks. Sometimes it felt like people were making excuses so I couldn’t advance. Unfortunately, I just had to deal with the fact that some people were allowed to act unfairly. With that being said, even if I could go back almost two years ago, I still would’ve joined scouts. I enjoy camping and I have gained lots of experience with leadership and communication. I’ve learned how to handle setbacks and how to work with people I might not necessarily get along with. I respect everyone’s opinion when it comes to the topic should girls be in boy scouts. However the extensive amount of hate people give is unnecessary and immature. I wish people would try to look at things from my perspective. I joined scouts because I loved what the organization has to offer and what it has taught me. I couldn’t have been given this opportunity anywhere else and I am so grateful girls are allowed to participate now. I’m a couple months away from earning my Eagle Scout award and couldn’t be more satisfied with what the challenges I faced have taught me.
Quaranteen 
This blog resonates incredibly deeply with me. As someone who has been part of the scouting system since I was a child, a lot of the things you’ve mentioned I have experienced and understand whole heartedly.
I’m also a girl but when I was younger I joined a “co-ed” vietnamese-american scout troop, which consisted of a “boy scout” and “girl scout” section. I was of course, under the label of a girl scout, since this was prior to when BSA began to accept girls. As our troop followed the VSA conduct rather than the BSA conduct, my experience does differ from yours. However, around last year when BSA opened up to allow girls, I also enrolled to become a boy scout as well as a girl scout.
My experience as a girl in a primarily male-dominated organization is very similar to what you’ve described. I’ve had many experiences during classes and courses where I would outwardly be called out for my gender and scrutinized. It was a difficult time, but overalll it helped me grow a thicker skin to such comments and also gain confidence in how I presented myself. So what if I am a girl? I could perform much better than some of the males in my classes! Overall, I love this blog and I’m so proud of us both for overcoming this challenge.
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