Dear Son,
Fortunately for us, we’re not affected by the Boy Scouts’ weak move to allow girls into its program and change their name to Scouts BSA. But we certainly know people who are and who will be, so it’s on their behalf that we must take a stand.
You asked a perfectly reasonable question about why the Girl Scouts will remain the Girl Scouts but the Boy Scouts cannot remain the Boy Scouts. And the answer is simple: There is no war on women and girls. There is only a war on boys and men. I pointed this out in 2012, and this latest move proves it in spades.
In fact, there was never a war on women and girls — although that is the narrative your generation has been fed by radicals who seek to upend all that is right and good in America. There was a time in this country when women and girls were, in fact, exalted — when they were protected for their inherent vulnerable nature. Women are physically weaker than men and always will be. Women are also the sex that gets pregnant, gives birth, and breastfeeds (no matter what crazy pictures you’ve see on the net of “men” with pregnant bellies). For both of these reasons, men have historically been put in charge, by both nature and society, of protecting women and girls.
Fortunately, we have raised you to be the fine young gentleman you are — which, naturally, presumes there are ladies among us. And there are! Unfortunately, they are drowned out by a more vociferous group of women who have no desire to be ladies. Rather, these women want to be like boys and men. Some are legitimately more interested in boy things, which is absolutely fine. It’s the others, the ones who tear down male spaces strictly to make a political point, to whom you need pay attention. You will come up against the latter far more than you will the former.
For decades, this very vociferous group has been on a mission to eradicate male and female. I know, it’s crazy, as you’ve pointed out more than once. Even your 15-year-old brain knows what grown people do not.
I’m sorry these folks have been so successful in destroying what’s left of masculinity. The Boy Scouts’ move, along with universities that tell young men their maleness is a mental health problem, are shining examples of this large-scale social movement. This outright war on men.
So here’s my message to you: Do not lie down and roll over. Stand tall. You do not need to let women and girls into your space. You are entitled to spaces reserved for boys and men, just as women and girls are entitled to spaces reserved for them.
Not only are you entitled to this, being in an all-boys school you know how greatly you benefit from it as well. I am so thankful for your school. I’m especially thankful for its motto, “Esto Vir” — which, as you know, means “be a man.” Without it, I fear you wouldn’t have the support and encouragement you need to fight the forces among us.
So go out into the world and embrace your masculinity. Fight every attempt to undermine it. Be proud of being the exceptional young man you are. Continue to be a gentleman even when women among you don’t act like ladies. You know that’s always been a big thing with me: act the same way in every environment, regardless of what the environment demands.
It’s a crazy world out there, not in the way it has always been, but in a unique and scary way. We need male strength more than ever. Don’t let them drown it out.
Suzanne Venker (@SuzanneVenker) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is an author, Fox News contributor, and trustee of Leading Women for Shared Parenting. Her fifth book, The Alpha Female’s Guide to Men & Marriage: How Love Works, was published in February 2017.
