Friday, November 4, 2011

Should Little Bobby Be Allowed To Be A Girl Scout?

The latest round of transgender insanity comes from Colorado where a seven year-old male asked to join a Girl Scout troop, and was initially denied. Bobby Montoya appears to identify as a girl, and is allowed to dress as one by his mother.

Now, this issue hit home for me. When I was around 10, I too wanted to join the Girl Scouts. Of course, at the time, it was completely out of the question. I did borrow my friend's Girl Scout Handbooks, and pretty much devoured everything in it. I dreamed of being allowed to be a Girl Scout, and even had a membership card that I found in a friend's basement. His mother had been a troop leader, and she had dumped a bunch of stuff there.

Now, I think it is wonderful that the Girl Scouts are willing to be more open-minded these days, but I think there need to be some limits on this sort of thing as well. It is not clear from the articles that I have read whether Bobby actually identifies as a girl, or if he identifies as a boy who wants to be a girl. His mother refers to him with male pronouns, and he has a male name.



And, in fact, it appears there are some such limits.  Here is the statement from the Girl Scouts of Colorado:

“Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. 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. Our requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to best support these children, their families and the volunteers who serve them. In this case, an associate delivering our program was not aware of our approach. She contacted her supervisor, who immediately began working with the family to get the child involved and supported in Girl Scouts.”
The key point here is, "presents her as a girl."  While I would disagree with the use of the term "transgender," this is a reasonable start to a sane policy.  What I am concerned about is the entire way this case has been handled.  It appears the mother is more interested in pushing an agenda than in what is right for both Bobby and the Girl Scouts that will be affected by this whole mess.

It appears that Bobby dresses as a girl, and is allowed to engage in girlish behavior, but it is also clear that he, and his parents, are presenting him as a boy.  While, of course, in such a case it would be prudent and proper that the troop leader and other adults be informed that the child is transsexual, I would expect that a child in such a circumstance would be effectively stealth. This is clearly not the case here.  Stories have, for example, reported on Bobby being bullied at school.

If this child actually identifies as a girl, and actually wishes to be a girl, then why is he, and his family, not making an actual effort to allow him to live as such?  Why is his situation so well known? 


This is the transgender extremist's dirty little secret.  It is really not about being who they claim to be.  It is about being a male who is presenting as a female.  It is about subverting gender, it is about transgressing societal norms, and it is about forcing themselves on others.


If one claims to be a woman, or a girl, then one should be that.  And if one is a transgender, then one should simply accept that one is at odds with the majority of society, and accept that people are going to wish to set reasonable limitations.  Bobby, and his family, do not have a right to disrupt a Girl Scout troop, just so he can play dress up.  If he wants to be a Girl Scout, then he needs to be a girl first, not a boy playing so bizarre game of make believe.
 

No comments: