Boy Scouts Are Just Scouts Now, and That’s Making Girl Scouts Mad

One evening in early February, in the back room of a small Lutheran church in Blacksburg, Va., seven girls joined the Boy Scouts. They stood in front of an American flag, wearing the same khaki shirts and bandanna neckties as the 19 boys there with them. Together they recited the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the traditional Boy Scout oath. As historic moments go, it was a quiet one.

Over the next hour, members of Blacksburg’s Troop 158 discussed a coming campout and held a physical fitness challenge that amounted to running a few laps around the church parking lot. The girls demonstrated the sled they intended to use in a multitroop race, while some boys debated whether an assault rifle would make a good weapon during a zombie apocalypse. (The consensus was yes.) “I like Boy Scouts so far,” said Amalie, who’s 13, when the meeting was over. “Sorry, I mean Scouts. We’re supposed to say the new name now.”