Dear Taylor,
I don’t know if you’ll read this, I hope you do. I just watched the video you did promoting
a boycott of Girl Scout cookies. Why? Because some troops are letting in transgender
girls. And you’re not happy about it.
First off, a little about me: I was a Brownie. I looked around for pictures of me in my dress, couldn’t find any. But I had the brown dress, matching socks, the whole deal.We had cookouts, made gingerbread cottages, the whole deal. When I was older we went roller skating, which meant I clung to the wall (bad roller skater). I tried selling cookies, but failed at it. Looking at the video of you speaking, I see you have badges on your sash. Good for you! You did better than me there!
And yet, you are encouraging people not to buy Girl Scout cookies. You say in the
video “in camp outs, men must have separate restrooms/sleeping quarters. Where’s
an eighteen year old boy supposed to sleep if he’s a girl scout?” Maybe things have
changed, but I know this: an eighteen year old (regardless of age) boy or girl would not
want to be at a girl scout campout, unless it’s a scout leader. It is so uncool. Besides,
I don’t know anyone who are/were Girl Scouts at eighteen. By then girls are busy with
applying to colleges, registering to vote, finding out who they are. Again, they might be
Girl Scout leaders. Actual Girl Scouts? Nope.
Your second argument is that “girls prosper in an all girls environment” and adding
transgendered children could harm that environment. That is true. I went to an all
women’s school and loved it. However, many of the women there were discriminated
against at their high schools because of their sexual orientation. At Mills they felt safe to
explore who they were. Many realized they were transgender, then started the transition
process while at school. Once at a memorial service for a Mills friend, a man came up
to the podium. “So I knew Timanna when I was an undergrad here, hard to believe…”
There was laughter in the audience, nodding and understanding (I had to explain to my
friend Lilly-Marie, who’s blind, why it was funny) We learned from each other.
In fact, when I think of the Girl Scouts, I think that’s what it’s there for, to learn. One time
at Mills I was buying Girl Scout cookies for my writing workshop when I saw a girl with
a beautiful badge.The badge was of a woman with Gibson Girl styled hair shaped like a
cameo. “That’s a gorgeous badge,” I told the girl. “Who is the woman?”
“Julietta Low. She formed the Girl Scouts.” She also told me about Low and her
accomplishments. I had no idea. You could learn from these transgender girls, Taylor.
You can learn what it’s like to feel different, to feel like you don’t fit in anywhere. Can
you imagine feeling like that? It’s awful. I know what it’s like. I wouldn’t wish it on
anyone.
What struck me about the video was how poised you are, very articulate. Trust me, at
fourteen I was the “um” giggling queen when it came to speeches. But I also wonder:
are these your opinions or your parents’ opinions? If it’s yours, okay. If it’s not, then we
have a problem. You need to think for yourself. I had parents that raised me Catholic,
but also told me it was okay to not agree with the Church. “Look at both sides of the
situation,” they both told me. “It isn’t always black or white. Life is gray sometimes.”
They haven’t always been crazy about my choices, but they knew it was my choices.
And they didn’t make do something I didn’t want to do. Unless it was going to bed early
or eating vegetables. Otherwise, they were very free to be you and me. However, I
known many parents who’ve pushed their kids into doing something they didn’t want
to do. If any adults in your life are telling you “Taylor, you have to make this video. We
must boycott Girl Scout cookies” when you don’t want to, you tell that adult no. They
can spread their own boycott news.
But if this is your opinion, it makes me sad. Sad because you are not being open
enough to see you are hurting children with your actions. You say it’s against the Girl
Scout Foundation, but doing this is already adding salt to open wounds. I hate to sound
condescending, but boycotting cookies is not the answer. Trying to see the other point
of view is the answer. And who knows? You might get a badge for it.
No matter what, I wish you well. But try to remember to find the gray. It’s there.
Yours truly,
Jennifer
I hate debates. I truly do. I hated when I had to do them in middle school, high school, college. I hate it when people get into debates about politics, or who was the guy Carly Simon wrote “You’re So Vain” for. I know what I believe in, I don’t want to debate it to death.
