Scroll To Top
Youth

Boy Scouts to Allow Transgender Kids

Boy Scouts

The change is effective immediately.

trudestress

The Boy Scouts of America will begin allowing transgender boys to participate in its boys-only programs, effective immediately, the organization announced Monday.

"Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application," said an emailed statement from the BSA, according to Reuters.

"For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual's birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-gender programs," the statement said. "However, that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state." Local Boy Scout councils will help find the right unit for each child, the statement noted.

BSA officials considered the fact that an 8-year-old transgender boy was asked to leave his Cub Scout troop in New Jersey, but the national discussion and evolving attitudes around gender identity constituted the primary reason for the change, a spokeswoman told the Associated Press.

The BSA lifted its ban on gay scouts in 2013 and on gay adult volunteers and staff in 2015, with a religious exemption. The Girl Scouts organization, which is separate, has had a nondiscrimination policy on sexual orientation and gender identity for several years.

trudestress
Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.