Counterintuitivity

Taylor, an eight year old Girl Scout wants to start a nation-wide boycott of the famous Girl Scout cookies. This is because of the fact that a transgendered boy was let into the Girl Scouts. She argues that this should not be acceptable and she makes a valid argument supporting her claims. One of the first points she makes is that any boy who wants to member of the Girl Scouts can be if he is presented as a girl. She then gives the quote from the Colorado Girl Scouts VP of Communications, Rachel Trujillo “If a child identifies as a girl, and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.” So, through this reasoning, any boy can become a girl scout if he is presented as a girl.

The issue then comes up with if the transgendered members are allowed to sleep in the same room and use the same bathroom as the girls. This issue is brought up by the fact that any adult males accompanying the group must have separate sleeping arrangements and a separate bathroom. This becomes a major issue if one of the transgendered members was to turn eighteen and would then be considered an adult male. He would then be required to sleep in a separate place and have a separate bathroom. If the rule is changed to accommodate this dilemma, it would give perverted High School students a new motive to join the girl scouts so they could be with younger girls on these trips. Even if this may not be the motive of a male Girl Scout member, there is the possibility, and therefore not safe.

At the end of her argument she gives some alternative ways that the Girl Scouts could raise money, such as a garage sale and just asking for donations. I believe that, for a fourteen year old girl, she makes a strong argument with solid evidence and clear facts. However, I do not believe that her movement for a boycott will get anywhere. I don’t believe enough people will care or agree with her. Besides, just about everyone loves at least one kind of Girl Scout cookies.

Taylor, a fourteen year old Californian member of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, is calling for a boycott of the organizations famous Girl Scout Cookies. She is calling for the boycott over the recent addition of a seven year old transgender child being accepted into the organization in Colorado in October of 2011. Taylor, who has been a Girl Scout for eight years, is enraged that the GSUSA allowed a child that is not a girl into the organization claiming that they have not been honest with others involved with the GSUSA. Although Taylor makes some valid points in her argument, I believe that her request to boycott Girl Scout Cookies is a blatant act of intolerance.

After Taylor shares a direct quote by the VP from an article by the Baptist Press explaining the reasons the organization allowed a transgender child into the group, she argues that if a transgender child that is a boy who wants to be a girl, “they’ll let him join based solely on his wishes and desires.” I disagree with this because transgender children may not control the desire to conform to the opposite sex. According to the American Psychological Association, many experts believe that biological factors such as genetic influences and prenatal hormone levels, early experiences, and experiences later in adolescence or adulthood may all contribute to the development of transgender identities.

Taylor later goes on to say that allowing transgender boys into GSUSA because it is an all girl program. She then uses the  “Ten Emerging Truths: New Directions for Girls 11-17,” specificly “Truth Number 4: Girls Connecting With Each Other Connects Them To You” which states, “Among girls 11-17, 92% identified the top advantage of being in an all-girl group is that it allows you to relate to other girls because they are experiencing the same problems as you… You can talk about different things with girls that you just can’t with boys. You can just be yourself and who you are, not something that you’re not.” This is a valid point and rule and a good example used by Taylor, but the The Girl Scout Law states that its members will be “friendly and helpful, considerate and caring” and “to respect myself and others… and be a sister to every Girl Scout.” Although Taylor’s first example is a valid rule, she is also breaking Girl Scout Law because she is discrimnating discriminating a fellow member of the organization. Also, I would think it shows more moral value to accept someone who is not normally accepted into society into a group where they can feel accepted by their peers.

Taylor later goes on to say that allowing transgender members would be dangerous for its girl member saying that the organization is breaking its own “safety rules” in letting them join. There is no evidence to back this claim up, and it is offensive and intolerant to the transgender children in the GSUSA. Every member (or members parents) are entitled to there own beliefs, but what Taylor did by trying to provoke a boycott was a hurtful and intolerant act to transgender children that are only looking for a place to fit it. Hopefully I now have enough support and specific examples to make the general observation “that’s just crazy.”

References

American Psychological Association-

http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/transgender.aspx

The Thang Blog-

http://fridaythang.com/blog/2012/01/11/call-for-girl-scouts-boycott-video-transcript/

Ten Emerging Truths-

http://www.girlscouts.org/research/pdf/ten_truths.pdf

The girl scout makes the overall argument that girl scout’s should not allow transgender males to join girl scouts. She backs up her argument by using many points as support.The evidence she cites makes everything she claims factual and not just opinions. The first point she makes is that as long as a boy wants to be a girl they will let join. She makes this point valid by providing the quote from the CO Girl Scouts VP for Communications Rachel Trujillo that says “If a child identifies as a girl, and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.” The quote provides relevant evidence that her argument is the truth and she is not making up facts.

The girl scout goes on to ask the question of where do transgender boys sleep on overnights and which bathrooms do they use. She talks about how Girl Scouts have required leaders to follow the Safety Wise guidelines, which states “Separate sleeping and bathroom facilities must be provided for adult males accompanying the group.” This becomes an issue when a senior who turns 18 is in the group. In this case a male would be required to have somewhere separate form the group to sleep and go to the bathroom. This point becomes very important when you consider the fact that a male could lie and claim they want to be a female and have their family also lie. If this were to happen you would have a boy sleeping on overnights with girls and who knows what the boy could do. This alone is enough reason to say it is not safe for males to be in the girl scouts.

Her points make boycotting girl scout cookies a reasonable thing to do.  She provides alternative ways to fund the troops like donations or a garage sale. She may be wrong about not allowing transgender males join girl scouts, but she definitely makes a effective argument that they should at least be honest about it and notify the girls and their parents. If the boycott works it could provide a more strict system for allowing transgender males in girl scouts or just completely stop it.

the girl in the video telling people to boycott girl scout cookies makes a valid point about letting transgender girls into the scouts, but also contradicts the girl scout values and oath at the same time. When the girl talks about how the rule say they don’t ask for proof and that if the family sells the girl as being a girl then they will accept her. This causes a very simple way of boys entering the girl scouts group by just saying yes they are a girl without exactly proving that they live and act as one. Boys could join the girl scouts at older ages up to 12th grade saying they are transgender and be lying just to get into the group and possibly take advantage of younger girls, or for other perverted reasons. the girl scouts also state that male adults that are supervisors need separate bathroom facilities and sleeping arrangements during sleepovers. This causes problems for transgender girls that are eighteen years old and technically are boys. If you treat them differently and give them a different place to sleep and go to the bathroom then they aren’t being treated as equals as the girl scouts state about each girl not being treated differently. It causes for some very confusion on how to include transgender into the girl scouts.

At the same time as bringing up great points about the safety of letting transgender girls into the girl scouts the young lady is also not following the beliefs and oath of the girl scouts. In the oath it clearly states that they will respect others and be a sister to every girl scout. By the way the girl in the video talks it seems she doesn’t respect transgender girls. Also it seems she will not accept a transgender girl as her sister even though they are accepted by the organization as a girl scout. The girl scouts promise to make the world a better place, well isn’t accepting every girl transgender or not doing that? If the girl of the video feels the organization should be bias to transgender girls, then why not be bias against race, appearance, or any other thing?

The young girl in the video did bring up some valid questions about the girl scouts rules that should be looked over more carefully, but to feel as they shouldn’t let any transgender girls in is wrong. If the girl is truly transgender, but lives and acts as a girl and can be proven to be a girl in every way except for the transgender part then they should be allowed. The girl scout organization should be a little more careful and make sure of the honesty of the transgender girl entering, so that they are not fooled into actually letting a straight boy trying to sneak in into the organization. I feel as long as she lives and acts in every way as being a girl and truly shows that then they should allow her to join the girl scout organization. They claim to be an accepting group that respects others than their group members should do the same and accept the transgender girl as long as she truly is a girl in mind and actions.

The boycotting of the cookies though was not a great idea to fix the problems in the scouts because the problem isn’t with the organization its with people who can’t accept real transgender girls as girls that they are. When they are truly girls even though transgender they should be treated as so in the organization with no difference to show them they can be accepted as a female as they wish to be. As long as the rules changed on how they let them in to make sure and more certain the organization isn’t being fooled. They needed to talk with the organization about ensuring the safety of the girls that join, so that a straight boy couldn’t sneak into the organization instead of telling people to boycott the girl scouts because that wouldn’t help anything. That would just cause problems and talks of prejudice with transgender people instead of accepting the girls and making sure they were truly girls besides the obvious anatomy differences, because that  shouldn’t matter if they  completely believe they are girls. The boycott just showed how simple-minded the girl was and some families of certain other girl scouts that felt the same instead of accepting people as they are and treating them equally.

Taylor, a 14 year old California Girl (GSUSA) is calling for both Girl Scouts across the nation and the general American public to boycott the organization’s infamous cookies. The boycott came as a response to the admittance of a transgender child into the Colorado division of the GSUSA, enraging Taylor and various other members of the Girl Scout community. Although their anger is understandable, they feel as if their beloved organization has betrayed and lied to them, it is also based on a matter of opinion that is not shared amongst others in the GSUSA.

Taylor explains that the GSUSA has taught her to discover, connect and take action when she sees something that she wants to change in the world; ironically it is the same organization that taught her this that she wants to change. Supposedly, the GSUSA is not being “honest or fair,” a key part of the groups law, with its members by not informing them that there have been several other instances of transgender children who have joined the group. However, Colorado Girl Scouts Vice President for Communication Rachel Truhijio said that the GSUSA Colorado “accepts all girls through kindergarden through the 12th grade as members. If a child identifies themselves as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a girl scout.” The VP continued to say that these decisions can be made on a case to case basis; “if a child is living as a girl, that is good enough for us, we do not require any proof of gender.” She explains that the money raised from cookie sales funds research that states that all girl organizations are a vital part of a maturing girls life. What is enraging people such as Taylor is the fact that the GSUSA is allowing children who identify as girls to join the organization even if it goes against a minority of its members beliefs.

What Taylor fails to acknowledge is that transgender males identify themselves as girls and therefor need an all girl organization to help assimilate themselves into the community to which they hope to belong to. As a former Girl Scout I was taught not to discriminate against someone based on their color, race, age or gender. These are values I know are still upheld in many GSUSA troops due to the fact that my 14 year old sister, who is the same age as Taylor, is a member of the New Jersey division and my mother is the troop leader. The fact that people such as Taylor are calling for a boycott as enraged many “scout moms” and other scouts. The Girl Scout Law states:“I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for  what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.”Taylor claims that the GSUSA is breaking the Girl Scout Law by not being “honest and fair” and not letting other members know that there are transgender children enrolled as scouts. However, Taylor herself is neither being friendly or helpful to her fellow scout by trying to get her kicked out and starting a boycott based on the child’s behalf. This boycott is not being considerate or respecting others, respecting the authority of her favored organization, or being a sister to every Girl Scout. By encouraging others to boycott GSUSA and transgender Girl Scouts, Taylor is breaking the Girl Scout Law.

Californian teen of a local Girl Scout troop is calling for the boycott of Girl Scout cookies from both Girl Scouts active in selling, and purchasers. This request was prompted by a Colorado troop admitting a transgender boy into the group. The teen calling for the boycott, also known as “Taylor,” is asking that until the GSUSA (Girl Scouts of the United States of America) bans transgenders from the organization, people refrain from the sale and purchase of the popular cookies. While it is understandable that this admittance raises a few questions, the arguments of “Taylor” are unsubstantiated and based more off opinion than fact.

First, Taylor makes the argument that the GSUSA is dishonest to its patrons, due to the fact that it has allowed transgender males into the organization without informing her and other members. One problem with this, is that she is implying that there may be “undercover” boys in her troop without her knowledge. If for some reason there was a transgender in her troop, it would be only after the GSUSA approves their application, once they insure the individual and the family present her as a girl. With the GSUSA being a group offering a home to those in need, Taylor should be more trusting of what she is trying to defend. She also makes the argument that making GSUSA accessible to transgenders is only benefiting a small group, while endangering a much larger one. If she understood how this group needs support and why, she would feel differently. Furthermore, making the claim that admitting transgender boys into the organization is dangerous to her, is wildly outrageous. She is ignorant to the fact that transgender boys DO NOT identify as boys. Even though physiologically they are indeed males, psychologically, they are not. In an attempt to fit in somewhere, these transgenders are not looking to “spy” on girls. They are no more a danger to her, than she is to them. Instead of banning them from the organization, a smarter approach would be to educate the girls, incase this situation occurs.

Discrimination in the United States has always been a spark for revolution. In the mid twentieth century, race was topic of the civil rights movement. Now in the twenty-first century, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender) community is the main focus. Taylor is openly discriminating against those that are not the same as her. She claims that the sales she has made, will now fund organizations that do not benefit her. The first problem with this claim is its inaccuracy. According to the New York Daily News, a GSUSA spokesperson says nearly 100% of cookie sales goes right back to the troop to fund events for the girls. The remaining fraction goes to charities in need. If these charities are helping those that need help, Taylor and anyone that agrees with her, should stop being so selfish and be happy that it is going to a good cause.

Unfortunately, there are bound to be supporters for this girl that are equally as ignorant to this world that we live in. One supporting organization is the Girl Scouts of USA Congressional Charter. This is also a group that calls for the elimination of sexual education. To call for any form of education to be ended is absurd, because knowledge is what fuels society. Another supporting organization is the Honest Girl Scouts website, which has been producing flyers for the boycott, claiming that allowing transgender boys into the GSUSA is promoting abortion and LGBT agendas. Just another example of ignorance at its finest. Spreading ridiculous information like that is detrimental, because more ignorant people will rally behind it.

Luckily, the majority of this country uses logic before supporting something as absurd as Taylor’s claims. The arguments she presents discriminate against a specific group which she is clearly uneducated on. Her main complaint that these “boys” pose a threat to her and other girls is based solely on opinion and has no factual substantiation whatsoever. So far, response to Taylor has been promising. In fact, I have noticed more people saying they will buy more cookies because what she is asking is so ridiculous. Another comment said, “A little bit of education goes a long way.” This could not be any more true, because the more informed people are, the more inclined they are to make educated decisions. Taylor so passionately defends an organization that stands for inclusiveness and support for those that need it. If she understood the Girls Scouts’ intentions and the group she alienates, her mind might be made up in a different direction.