TAYLOR: Totally Asinine Young Lady Openly Repulses

Today, instead of making a blog post, I took a nap. I wanted to make sure I had the requisite energy to handle this particular issue. This is the first "actual" post on my blog, and it's dedicated to a topic that has been a constant source of my eternal ire since the day I watched it.

I'm sure people remember "Taylor," the "teenaged" "girl" who was a "Girl Scout" for "eight years" and made a video wherein she "discussed" her "concerns" about GSUSA allowing a transgender girl to join a Girl Scouts troop in Colorado. Note the number of things I put in quotation marks, as I have good reason for doing so.

• I am unsure of whether Taylor is her actual name or this post's titular acronym.
• I am unsure of whether Taylor is actually a teenager.
• I am unsure of whether Taylor is a human girl or the earthly manifestation of the Tea Party's demonic energy.
• I doubt the Girl Scouts organization that Taylor claimed to be a part of was the actual Girl Scouts, whom I commend for their stance of letting girls be Girl Scouts. It really is that simple, folks.
• There was no discussion here; it was simply this probable construct of hate spewing ignorant vitriol and thinking that she would garner support.
• Her concerns are not valid, which I intend to demonstrate. 

I'm currently debating putting a little bit of a disclaimer on this to identify myself as a cisgender male who as a trans* ally and decent human being took deep offense to what this girl was saying and calling for. As I said, I'm sure that everyone is already aware of this...person; however, my feelings about this girl have turned into a rant that a good friend calls her favorite. So I'm dedicating this blog post to Lyn, who also has a blog that you should definitely check out. Hey Lyn, this was supposed to be funny, I guess, but it didn't really turn out that way (maybe). I dunno.

Oh, and I did manage to find a copy of the full video, since shortly after it was posted the original video was made private. Way to stick to your guns, "Taylor." So let's go. 

If you want the link to the video, that is here.

The website that "Taylor" promotes in the last four seconds of the video is HonestGirlScouts.com, a site that is still up. Check it out...if you dare.

Oh, one last thing. Like I've said before, I welcome any and all topics to discuss; however, I reserve the right to refuse to discuss something I may feel unable to properly address. So if you've got something for me to talk about, don't be afraid to let me know. :)

First and foremost, "Taylor" prefaces the entire video by saying that she has been a Girl Scout for eight years, and asks why then she is asking people to boycott GSUSA. 

Another good friend of mine, who was also a Girl Scout, watched this video and could not believe that someone who was a member of the same organization she was could say things like this. I'm inclined to agree, and I was even before I showed it to her. I didn't know what the hoopla was about, but I knew that some girl was calling for a boycott of GSUSA and it had something to do with trans* people. Imagine my surprise and rage to find out that "Taylor" was calling for people to refuse to support the Girl Scouts for their position to allow girls to be Girl Scouts. 

And I'm gonna go on a tangent here because:

1. Girl Scout cookies are incredible and probably made from the tears of baby seals mixed with a little bit of angelic light and a dash of perfection. 
2. A person's gender identity is unquestioned. If a girl says she is a girl, then she is a girl. If a boy says he is a boy, he is a boy. If a person says xe has no gender, then xe has no gender. If a person says they are bigender/genderfluid/genderqueer, then they can present whoever or whatever they choose to present on any given day. To ignore this and say things like, "But you're REALLY a..." is unacceptable, because not only does it showcase your own ignorance (general "you" here, but also "Taylor"), it marginalizes, trivializes, and erases whoever's gender identity you are denying. YOU do not have the right to decide a person's gender identity for them, nor do YOU have any say in how you are to refer to them, nor do YOU get to choose whether or not you respect them. Gender identity is not about what makes YOU comfortable, it is about a person identifying with how they feel inside.
3. Asking people to boycott Girl Scouts by refusing to buy Girl Scout cookies would never have worked anyway (see #1 which supersedes hatred; I'm fairly sure Girl Scout cookies could bring about world peace if utilized correctly), because such blatant hatred and ignorance is unsupportable by anyone with morals or a brain or common sense. 

Tangent done. Let's keep going. Gosh, all of this talking and the video isn't even 20 seconds in yet. This is gonna be interesting, I think.

"Taylor" says that one reason she is calling for this action is that she is fulfilling something she was taught as a Girl Scout: to "discover, connect, and take action when I see something I want to change in the world."

I'm fairly sure that using Girl Scout ideology to support your hateful words isn't quite what GSUSA had in mind. Oh, but you haven't claimed to do that yet? Okay, "Taylor," continue.

"Did you know that in October 2011, Girl Scouts admitted they allow transgender boys from kindergarten through the 12th grade?"

Well, "Taylor," I had assumed that Girl Scouts was for girls. Why would they allow...oh. Oh. What you meant to say was that GSUSA allows people born as male and who identify as girls from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Okay, so first, let me say that people who identify as girls are girls. There's really no two ways about it. So if Girl Scouts allows people who are girls to join Girl Scouts, what's the problem here? I do believe this question has not only been answered but made irrelevant since you are asking whether or not I knew that Girl Scouts USA allowed girls to join. Yes, "Taylor," I knew that.

"Colorado Girl Scouts' Vice President for Communications, Rachel Trujillo, was quoted as saying, quote: '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.' Endquote. That means that as long as a boy WANTS to be a girl (Transgender Girl Scout = boy who wants to be a girl), they'll let him join based solely on his wishes and desires."

First, four for you, Rachel Trujillo, for allowing girls to be Girl Scouts. Again, I really don't see the problem here, but let's go ahead and talk about what "Taylor" said. "Taylor," I am not at all sorry to break this to you, but a transgender Girl Scout is a girl who wants to be a Girl Scout. This would mean that as long as a girl wants to be a Girl Scout, they'll let her join based solely on her wishes and desires. I think what you aren't getting here is that no boy asked to be a Girl Scout. A transgender girl is not a "boy who wants to be a girl," she is a girl who wants to be a girl. I really can't make it any simpler, "Taylor."

Let's move on.

"But most disturbing to me and my family, is they also admitted to having already placed transgender boys through America (Is that...Honest?) without letting everyone know."

Well, see "Taylor" and "Taylor"'s family, Girl Scouts admitted to placing girls in Girl Scouts troops across America without letting everyone know. That would make sense, since it would be weird to question GSUSA for letting girls join. Oh, you're still on that whole "boy who wants to be a girl" shtick, huh? Okay, see, the thing is that you are wrong. There is quite literally no way in which the implications you are attempting to present are at all correct. Girl Scouts is not, by allowing girls to join, allowing boys to join. 

And since you brought up the topic of honesty, how honest is making a video like this and then making it private so that no one can see it? That doesn't sound honest to me, "Taylor." That sounds to me like someone who's trying to hide what they have done because they don't want to own up to what they have said. That sounds to me like someone who does not want to accept that she has badly miscalculated public sentiment and the possibility of anyone with common sense or human decency agreeing to take the sort of action for which they are calling. Before you start calling people dishonest, "Taylor," maybe you should be an adult and admit to the ramifications of what you attempted to do. 

But, since you want to talk about GSUSA, let's go ahead and think about the honesty of letting girls join Girl Scouts without letting everyone know. Do you see the ridiculousness of your statement? Do you really expect to be informed every time a girl joins Girl Scouts? It is none of your business other than to know that you have another sister...if you're still in the Girl Scouts, something I highly doubt. 

Continuing on (we're now at the 2:15 mark, folks, wow isn't this exciting! Incidentally, I am extremely infuriated by what this girl is saying, but it is an old rage, one that I am capable of looking past in order to rationally discuss this with a clearly irrational person).

"So, what's wrong with that?"

What's wrong with...what? Oh, letting girls join Girl Scouts without letting everyone know, right right, okay, I'm with you. Well, no, I'm not, but I meant to say that I am following your monologue. Please continue.

"For one reason, Girl Scouts describes itself as an all-girl experience (all-girl = no males).With that label, families trust that the girls will be in environment [sic] that is not only nurturing and sensitive to girls' needs, but also safe for girls. (Is it safe to hide boys in Girl Scouts?)"

Ohhhhh "Taylor." For one thing, Girl Scouts IS an all-girl experience; last I knew, there WEREN'T any boy scouts in Girl Scouts. Families trust that girls will be in a nurturing and sensitive environment that is also safe. I would argue, "Taylor," that for transgender girls such an environment is even more necessary. Transgender girls have needs like cisgender girls do; though those needs are different, they are still GIRLS' NEEDS and deserve just as much attention and care. ALL girls have a right to feel safe and cared for - they need to be protected from people like you, "Taylor." And your clever little WordArt question that flashed across the screen as you said "but also safe for girls" is completely irrelevant, because THERE ARE NO BOYS HIDING IN GIRL SCOUTS. Transgender GIRLS are GIRLS. Your refusal to understand this is really getting on my nerves, "Taylor." It is also apparent that you don't intend to correct yourself, so from this point on I shall correct you because you are not making any headway in your counter-intuitive argument.

In Ten Emerging Truths: New Directions for Girls 11-17, a publication made by the Girl Scout Research Institute after studies costing "many thousands of dollars...raised for them through cookie sales and donations, the argument is made that all-girl groups are important to girls in that it allows them to be free from a co-ed environment where they can talk about problems that they all face, talk about different things that they can't talk about with boys. All-girl groups allow girls to be themselves, not something that they are not. In all-girl groups, it is easier to: relate to other girls; talk about issues you can't talk about in front of boys; be yourself; and look how you want to look. "So if Girl Scouts claims they provide an all-girl experience, but then admit boys without letting girls and their parents know about it, isn't that deceptive? (Where do transgender boys sleep on overnights? Which bathrooms do they use?)"

"Taylor," if I had any faith in your ability to understand reason, it was completely lost after this point. Who knows why I am continuing to try and explain this to you, but I will try. By allowing transgender GIRLS to be in all-girl groups, those GIRLS are being removed from co-ed environments where they face the very real, very present, and often already experienced danger of being harassed, humiliated, or beaten by cisgender boys who do not understand that boys who identify as boys are boys, and that girls who identify as girls are girls. Transgender GIRLS may feel more able to talk to OTHER GIRLS about their GIRL-RELATED problems and trust that those all-girl groups will allow them to be themselves and not have to worry about being in danger for being who they are. The experiences of transgender GIRLS are vastly different from the experiences of cisgender GIRLS, but they are all still GIRLS and deserve to be treated as such; this is basic respect, "Taylor," something you clearly lack and which you are quickly proving to be undeserving of yourself, from my perspective. 

Additionally, Girl Scouts is not being deceptive by allowing transgender GIRLS who present themselves as GIRLS and whose families present them as GIRLS to join an ALL-GIRL experience. What is deceptive is you presenting information in a way to (badly) support your own skewed misjudgments. What is deceptive is you referring to transgender GIRLS as transgender boys, because what you are doing is misrepresenting them for who they are and who they want to be. What you are doing is lying to people about young girls who just want to do things that girls do, including join GSUSA. YOU are the one being dishonest by using factual information to support your lies and false representation, "Taylor." Check yourself. 

Lastly, and this really gets me, what right do you have to ask those last two questions? Transgender GIRLS would sleep with cisgender GIRLS, I would imagine. They are all girls, so them sleeping together would make sense. Your second question is so rude, invasive, entitled, and unnecessary that I will not answer it, because not only is it NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, it should be self-evident that girls would use the girls' bathroom if they chose to do so. If they chose to use the boys' bathroom, that is STILL NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Bathrooms are bathrooms, and using them to try and define someone's gender is childish, misinformed, judgmental, ignorant, and ridiculous, because using bathrooms no more defines someone's gender than their eye color does. 

In Safety-Wise, safety guidelines that all Girl Scout leaders and volunteers are required to respect, the provision for overnight safety is that, "Quote: 'Separate sleeping and bathroom facilities must be provided for adult males accompanying the group.' End quote. So, if a man is not allowed to share a tent with girls, what would you call a 12th-grade boy who turns 18 years old?" And in a revision, Girl Scouts stated that they were to "ensure that no girl is treated differently regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, background, sexual orientation, gender..." (Emphasis added by "Taylor.") "So, Girl Scouts admits that different genders - or boys - can enter Girl Scouts, and that they don't require proof of their gender, either. Then really, any boy can join Girl Scouts simply by saying that he WANTS to be a Girl Scout. But the real question is, why is GSUSA willing to break their own safety rules...to accommodate transgender boys?"

So, if separate sleeping and bathroom facilities are established for adult males during Girl Scout overnight stays, what's the problem here? Additionally, though I do not understand the smirk on your face, I would call a boy who turns 18 a man. "Taylor," once again, I am going to state: transgender GIRLS are GIRLS. 

Furthermore, by GSUSA ensuring that no girl is treated differently because of her gender, you do realize that what you are doing is going directly against that principle? What Girl Scouts USA is saying is that they allow people who are GIRLS to join Girl Scouts. What you are not comprehending, "Taylor," is that by acting the way you are, and saying the things you are, you are insulting the very organization you represent, you are acting in direct opposition to one of their core safety principles, and you are making yourself look more and more like you have no idea what you're talking about, spewing things that make no sense to anyone with a basic grasp of logic. 

Oh, and while we're talking about this, I suppose I should let you know that biological sex and gender identity are two different things? Sex is biological, gender is cultural. And even then, studies have shown that trans* people have slight biological differences from their cisgender counterparts. So by asking for proof of gender, not only are you asking an inappropriate question, even if such hatred was allowed to influence organizational policy, it would be the wrong question. To be a Girl Scout, one would assume that you simply have to be a GIRL. Not all girls are biologically female, "Taylor," and not all biological females are girls. Just because you may be a cisgender girl does not mean that all girls are cisgender, nor does it mean that all girls have to be cisgender to be considered "real" girls. Someone who identifies, presents, and lives as a girl is a girl, "Taylor." It really is that simple; the only reason you are not understanding this is because you are remaining willfully ignorant and hateful, with your sexism and cisnormativity. 

GSUSA, by accommodating transgender GIRLS, is not breaking any of its own safety rules; breaking the rules is what you are doing. 

Hold on, folks, there's still two more minutes left. 

"I think it is because GSUSA cares more about promoting the desires of a small handful of people than it does for my safety and the safety of my friends and sister Girl Scouts, and they are doing it with money we earned for them from Girl Scout cookies, and money we pay them for uniforms, books, patches, and anything with the Girl Scout logo on it."

"Taylor," what GSUSA is doing is protecting the safety of its members. Tell me, how does allowing transgender GIRLS threaten anyone's safety? Perhaps you are unaware, but 41% of trans-identified people have admitted to contemplating suicide because of the difficulties they face by choosing to acknowledge who they are and trying to live the way they want to. Cisgender people face no danger from trans* people, "Taylor." That GSUSA is protecting the people it needs to protect should not be cause for your ignorant, misguided, dismal attempt at social engagement. GSUSA uses the money it receives to fulfill its goals; you are not the entire Girl Scouts of USA, "Taylor," and that you would expect to be treated as though you are more important than everyone else because of your irrational hatred speaks more to your entitlement and sheer lack of maturity than anything else, especially more than any danger posed by trans* people.

Tell me, "Taylor," what danger is there in allowing people to live as they are? What danger is there in allowing girls to join Girl Scouts? You are the only one presenting any danger, "Taylor." You present a danger to trans* people, to the mission and goals of GSUSA, and to yourself by acting this way. Your cisnormativity poses a danger to trans* people who want nothing other than the freedom to be who they are; you pose a danger to GSUSA by associating yourself with them in order to criticize them, jeopardizing their reputation by letting people know that such a hateful being was a member with access to Girl Scouts resources and information; and you pose a danger to yourself by posting this video online. Do you realize that you will never be forgotten or forgiven for what you have done? Your hatred has sparked a massive backlash that you are only too deserving of. Your ignorance has (hopefully) resulted in you being removed from Girl Scouts, something that you are also deserving of. This is your legacy, "Taylor." This is what you will be remembered as, a young girl who tried to use fearmongering and transphobia to boycott an organization that is only trying to fulfill its mission and protect its members.

I hope you're proud of yourself.