OOYL Book Club: May Selection

'Morally Straight' by Mike De Socio

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The May selection for the Out of Your League Book Club is another one I’m really excited about.

I have enjoyed our first few book clubs immensely, and I appreciate everyone who is showing up and being so engaged with the discussion and the content. Thank you so much for helping build the OOYL community into something thriving and lovely. I couldn't do any of this without you all being here with me. The link to register for this event is at the bottom of this newsletter.

I’m thrilled to announce our selection for May: Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts—and America by Mike De Socio.

Mike De Socio is a former Boy Scout who takes a critical lens into the organization, tracking the decades-long battle for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Boy Scouts of America.

While not technically a sport itself, the Boy Scouts are deeply embedded with and influential on the culture of outdoor activity and therefore outdoor sports, more generally. Not only that, kids who don’t fit in with sports have sometimes gravitated to scouting as an alternative.

From the book’s summary:

Weaving in his own experience as a scout and journalist, Mike De Socio’s Morally Straight tells a story that plays out over the course of twenty-five years, beginning in an era when gay rights were little more than a cultural sideshow; when same-sex marriage was not even on the radar; and when much of the country was recommitting to conservative social mores. It was during this treacherous time that accidental activists emerged, challenging one of America’s most iconic institutions in a struggle that would forever change the country’s view of gay people and the rights they held in society.

In Morally Straight we meet James Dale, the poster child of Scouting who took his fight for inclusion to the Supreme Court; Steven Cozza, the 12-year-old scout in California who started a movement for inclusion called Scouting for All; Jennifer Tyrrell, the lesbian den mother whose expulsion from the Scouts reignited the gay membership controversy; Zach Wahls¹, the son of lesbian moms who led the final push for policy change; and an array of other previously unknown Scouters who played smaller—but no less crucial—roles in the fight for full inclusion.

The cornerstone of Mike’s reporting always centers on gay history (I loved this recent piece on the history of gay bathhouses in Boston!) and his perspective on the Boy Scouts comes from a place of real love and affinity. I can’t wait to hear from Mike about his personal experience growing up as a queer kid in the BSA, including how it was an unexpected refuge for him; his struggle squaring his identity with the organization’s then-discriminatory policies; and the relevance and place that the Boy Scouts still hold in society today.

Mike at the Eagle Court of Honor

Our Zoom event will be on Thursday, May 22nd at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Mike will be joining us for that conversation, which is only open to paid subscribers. The conversation will be recorded and sent out to everyone who registered for the event, so you can watch it even if you can’t join us live.

A few days before our Zoom meeting, I’ll send out another email with the link to the event, along with a companion syllabus of bonus material and additional reading for folks who are interested and want to continue exploring topics covered by our book selections.

photo credit: Olivia Nadel

Access to the Zoom event requires registration. You can register for our ‘MORALLY STRAIGHT’ BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION at the link below: