The following blog post is by Deborah Beuerman.
Articles published recently announced that boys who would rather live as girls can now be included as members of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
A transgender girl—a boy who acts like a girl—who is treated as a girl by his family will be accepted as a “girl” by Girl Scouts. This is really not new news. A 7-year old boy who had been living as a girl since he was 2 was allowed to join a troop in 2012.
Sadly, a policy of inclusion has been in place for many years, with the Girl Scout membership policy simply stating that Girl Scouts is open to all girls. On the face this sounds good, but such a simple statement without more definition can be broadly interpreted, and can be the basis for removing guiding principles for the organization. Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low did want diversity in scouting, but the definition of her day was quite different from the “diversity and tolerance” of our day. While she did not want to exclude any girl because of race, socioeconomic class, or disability, today’s idea of including generally is focused on sexuality.
Homosexuals have likely been involved in scouting for many, many years, with the GSUSA website stating,
“There are no membership policies on sexual preference. However, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. has firm standards relating to the appropriate conduct of adult volunteers and staff. The Girl Scout organization does not condone or permit sexual displays of any sort by its members during Girl Scout activities.”
That is, the policy has been “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Transgenders are the most recent group to seek their “right” to belong. The nature of the sexuality means inclusion must be more open.
As the definition of diversity has evolved, so has the meaning of “spiritual.” Girl Scouts has a spiritual foundation. From the beginning, the Girl Scout Promise has included the words “serve God,” meaning that the Girl Scout movement had a Christian spiritual foundation. In 1993, GSUSA removed God from the Girl Scout Promise by allowing members to use in place of “God” any word that indicates their own spiritual beliefs. Without God, there is no longer truth and a standard for “courage, confidence and character”.
A change in the Girl Scout Law has also subtly shifted the focus: The original law read “A Girl Scout is loyal.” A Girl Scout now promises “To be fair.”
The latest group to be included in Girl Scouts’ diverse membership is transgender girls. The transgender policy came to light with the Girl Scouts website publication of the blog article, “The Meaning of ‘Serving All Girls,’” written by Andrea Bastiani Archibald, Ph.D., Chief Girl Expert, GSUSA.
Dr. Archibald wrote,
“Girl Scouts has valued and supported all girls since our inception in 1912. There is not one type of girl. Every girl’s sense of self, path to it, and how she is supported is unique. . . . .
“Our mission to build ‘girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place’ extends to all members, and through our program, girls develop the necessary leadership skills to advance diversity and promote tolerance.
“If a girl is recognized by her family, school and community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe. Inclusion of transgender girls is handled at a council level on a case by case basis, with the welfare and best interests of all members as a top priority.”
The present real mission of Girl Scouts seems to be found in Archibald’s statement, “girls develop the necessary leadership skill to advance diversity and promote tolerance.” Leadership of GSUSA has for decades subtly sought to indoctrinate girls into the liberal, feminist ideology. Through curriculum, merit badges, and projects, the goal of national leadership has been to teach girls to think that sexual promiscuity and homosexuality are normal, and to advocate liberal causes such as abortion rights, homosexual rights, gay “marriage,” extreme environmental protection, and girl power feminism. That transgendered “girls” could be included in a Girl Scout troop is really not surprising. It is the next step in our culture’s progression of sexual activism. Individual troop leaders have been able over the years to design their troop’s program to align with personal and local values and belief in striving to build “girls of courage, confidence and character.” It would seem that opportunity to instill traditional morals and values is coming to a close.
For all their talk about accepting every girl and helping her be comfortable and reach her full potential, are they paying attention to the real girls in a troop that will accept boys who want to be girls? What about girls’ needs, privacy, safety, and dignity? How is GSUSA going to enforce the time-honored policy of using the buddy system so that no girl ever goes anywhere alone? To her tent, to the bathroom, to the shower?
The issue with the transgender policy is the issue with liberal agenda which redefines “normal” and seeks what is best and deserved for each unique individual—to the detriment of the rights and freedoms of the whole.
Kris Bush
Pam Perimon