Nonbinary Scout Leader Questions the Gender Division of the Organization

Bondings 2.0 reported two weeks ago that the General Council of the Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani (AGESCI) the national  Italian Catholic scouting association, approved a set of pro-LGBTQ+ policies for their work with youth.

The document, titled “Gender identity and sexual and affective orientation,”states that sexual orientation and gender identity are not incompatible with Catholic witness, and affirms that LGBTQ+ scout leaders can serve openly in educational, catechetical, regional, and national leadership roles. To follow up on that news, Bondings 2.0’s Elisa Belotti interviewed two Italian scout leaders to understand the impact of this document. A post earlier this week contains an interview with Luisa Alioto, an Area Commissioner for the Rome Urban Center Area of AGESCI, as well as a trainer for the Rovering branch (ages 16-21) of scouting.

Today’s post is an interview with Vitto Cimaschi (VC), 27 years old, a transmasculine scout who serves as Area Commissioner for the East Genova Area of AGESCI.

EB: Vitto, how would you describe your journey into Catholic scouting? And how did your gender identity influence your experience?

VC: I became fully aware of my gender identity when I was already a scout leader, not when I was a youth member, because I didn’t yet have the tools to understand myself. At that time, I had never even heard of trans people.

When I was a youth member, I sometimes felt uneasy in certain situations, especially during the troop years, because there is a strong gender division. Boys mostly do activities with other boys, and girls with other girls. I was in a female patrol and I constantly felt that something was wrong, but I didn’t have the words to explain it. Later, when I moved into the rovering, boys and girls were together, so I was still socialized as a girl, but I experienced less discomfort.

In 2019, I became a scout troop leader. When AGESCI was founded in 1974, a diarchy system was introduced: every unit is led by one male and one female leader. The aim was to ensure representation of both genders, but it is clearly a very binary structure. The more I became aware of my gender identity and, in particular, my non-binary identity, the more uncomfortable I felt with the diarchy and with being seen as the female leader.

Vitto Cimaschi

One of the most difficult moments was when I was running an activity with the female leaders for the girls’ patrols. At that time, I was already using male pronouns for myself internally, but I wasn’t yet asking others to do the same. When I later became a scout leader for the rovering, I heard teenagers expressing transphobic comments, while the other leaders did not seem to perceive this as an issue or an injustice.

In January 2023, I came out as transmasc and decided to leave my role as scout leader in order to protect myself from misgendering and the emotional discomfort it caused. For a couple of months, I distanced myself from scouting because I didn’t feel understood, and I didn’t see them ready to face the situation collectively. No one seemed to be asking how my being transmasc could be communicated to the children or their families. I felt completely on my own.

In October 2023, I gradually reconnected. In the meantime, I had top surgery and was undergoing gender-affirming hormone therapy, so everyday misgendering decreased significantly. I would have liked to return to working directly with the children, but after coming out, it felt complicated. Neither I nor the scout leadership community knew how to handle the situation. So I took on a staff role instead.

It is not a role in regular direct contact with children and families. I work in the training and education of scout leaders, and only occasionally with the children as well. It was clearly not a free choice, but rather a decision shaped by the circumstances at the time.

In this new role, I was still at first registered as a woman because I had not yet updated my legal documents. However, I was able to have my chosen name displayed on the website for events. Now I am registered as a man, even though I identify as non-binary.

EB: What is still missing in scouting to be a safer place for LGBTQ+ people?

VC: In AGESCI, there is no confidential policy that allows transgender or non-binary people to use their chosen name and affirmed gender in internal documents and systems.

I also think the diarchy system should be reconsidered. If gender variance is recognized, but leadership roles remain strictly anchored to male and female categories, there is a clear contradiction.

Finally, I believe the educational approach of separating children into single-gender groups should be discussed. There is no space for non-binary people in this structure, and it is also unclear how trans people should be integrated: should they participate according to their affirmed gender? And should that depend on family consent if underaged?

There are also scout badges that differ depending on the gender of the person receiving them. There is no gender-neutral version. When I came out, I started using a rainbow lily instead of the female badge so I could feel it more mine.

EB: If you could talk to a young LGBTQ+ Catholic person who is afraid of not being accepted in scouting, what would you say?

VC: I would suggest getting information about the specific group they are joining. The new AGESCI document is an important step forward, but we still need time for the different local groups to fully absorb and implement it.

When coming out concerns sexual orientation, people can be more relaxed about disclosing it. When you are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, you do not challenge the structure of the association itself. It is a more fluid process, even if there can still be resistance in some groups, especially in leadership roles. There is often the idea that children should be accepted unconditionally, but that if you have an educational role, you cannot be LGBTQ+ because you are expected to be a role model.

Coming out as a trans person, instead, is more complex. Even when the people around you are welcoming and supportive, there are practical issues that still need to be addressed and often have no clear solution. In that case, I would suggest staying in contact with other trans or non-binary scout leaders in order to find support.

The new document is certainly a great help in cases where there is a closed door, or when there is resistance based on the idea that an educational figure cannot be LGBTQ+. My hope is also that, thanks to this statement, LGBTQ+ scout leaders will be able to stay connected and come together to share experiences and tools.

—Elisa Belotti, New Ways Ministry, July 18, 2026