You could call my bond with the Girl Scouts something of a love/hate relationship. They who giveth the world Thin Mints taketh away my ability to resist the temptation of said chocolaty goodness. But I may have to pledge my utter devotion to these cookie peddlers. They're about to let a 7-year-old boy into their ranks to help make sure he has a comfortable outlet in his community.
Bobby Montoya is what is called "gender-variant." Technically, he has "boy parts," but he's increasingly identifying as a girl in the way he dresses and the style of his clothes. And he wanted to play with other kids who are similar -- in the ranks of the Colorado Girl Scouts.
Initially told no by a local troop leader, it broke his little heart. So Montoya's mom, Felisha Archuleta, took her child's battle to the news. And the word from the state's Girl Scout headquarters is the troop leader was misinformed -- you don't have to have "girl parts" to be a Girl Scout. Unlike the Boy Scouts, they want to be an all-inclusive organization. They're working to bring Montoya into a troop.
Doesn't that warm your heart?
The fact is, gender-variant kids have it hard enough. And I'm not talking about bullies here. Kids can begin showing a discomfort in their skin or gender as early as 2 or 3. Sometimes it's a phase. Sometimes it's a sign of something bigger. But just put yourself in one of these kids' shoes for a second.
Imagine waking up tomorrow and feeling like you weren't who you were supposed to be. Doesn't sound fun, does it? So any organization that wants to make these kids feel more at ease and more like the other kids is good in my book.
Now if we could only take the word "girl" out of Scouts. Yeah, gender differences exist (that's a whole other post, my sweets), but most of these kids join a troop before the "OMG, cooties" stage. These kids still like each other. Maybe if we didn't segregate them by gender from the get-go, being gender-variant wouldn't be such a big flipping deal.
Are you a Girl Scouts fan?
Image via kalleboo/Flickr