A transgender child and her mother are waiting for an apology from the Girl Scouts of Colorado after the quintessential girls club refused to accept the child because he had “boy parts.”
Felisha Archuleta explains that her transgender son who prefers being a girl was refused admittance to the Girl Scouts club until later a supervisor intervened and said the child could be admitted. But that was weeks ago.
“They haven’t called me directly,” said Archuleta. “When I talked to the top [person], I said Bobby wants to be in the Girl Scouts, but have a different leader. She never called me back and only said they would give [the local leader who rejected him] sensitivity classes.”
Her son, Bobby Montoya, 7, was born male but identifies as a female and has even asked his mother: “Why didn’t you make me a girl?” Archuleta says her son has wanted to be a female since age 2.
“I believe he was born in the wrong body,” said Archuleta. “I thought Bobby would grow out of it. For birthdays, he asked for ponies. He had a princess birthday, and last year when he turned 7, he had a Rapunzel birthday. I have just basically supported him.”
Since Bobby has wanted to be a girl, his mother saw no problem in letting him join the Girl Scouts, the confidence-building girls’ organization that aims to teach responsibility and hard work. But much to the mother’s surprise, the troop leader, instead of encouraging Bobby, humiliated him instead, causing the 7-year-old to erupt into tears.
The actions stand contrary to what the Girl Scouts of Colorado says as part of its mission to include transgender children.
“He dresses like a girl, and you can’t tell he is a girl?” said his mother. “But the Girl Scout leader told us he can’t join because he has ‘boy parts.’… But no one would know he’s a boy unless they pulled his pants down.”
Archuleta said the troop leader also asked her, “What do you call it, a boy or a girl?” Archuleta, stunned, responded, “Excuse me?” The troop leader continued, “Bobby. You can see that’s a boy’s name, and everyone will know he’s a boy.”
“He told me that since this all happened, ‘Mom, you are right. They can’t be mean to me. I am a human being like everyone else,” said Archuleta.
The Girl Scouts of Colorado have yet to reach out to Archuleta and her son.
Funny, GLAAD says differently
http://www.glaad.org/node/39044
“Yesterday, the Girl Scouts of Colorado spoke out in support of transgender children. Following the story of a child who was denied enrollment in a local Girl Scout troop despite identifying as a girl, the Girl Scouts of Colorado released a statement saying that the associate responsible for that troop was unaware of the organization’s policy. “Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members,” the statement says. “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.” Girl Scouts of Colorado also asserted that it is reaching out to the family of the excluded child and will be altering its training programs so that all girls are supported.
Corey Barrett of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Community Center of Colorado commented on the matter, saying that as children explore their gender identity and expression, “I think it’s all about providing a healthy environment for them for that to happen. Everyone needs to be prepared or at least have an idea from a policy and procedure stand point how they’re going to address that.” According to their statement, Girl Scouts of Colorado is committed to providing that environment. “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.”
Yes, it is correct that Girl Scouts issued a public statement, however, according to our sources, they have NOT called the Archuleta family to apologize.
Actually, the scout leader has a point. If this child really identifies as being a girl, then why does the child have a boy’s name? At the very least, you would expect a change in spelling to “Bobbi” or “Bobbie.” Does this child want to be known only as a girl, or does this child prefer to be known as a boy who wants to be girl? That is, does this child want to be “stealth” and be only a girl (i.e. is he a transsexual?) or is this child okay with everyone knowing the full history ad that this child is really a male? If this child is actually transsexual, then I would someone who wants to straddle the line, and doesn’t care who knows, then I think they need to put the entire troops interests ahead of just one child
This is really the bottom line with these issues. Does a person who is looking to force their “lifestyle” on others have priority over the interests of a larger group? In this case, should the troop members suffer to pander to one child?
Hey Jennifer, Cram your bigoted “lifestyle” bullcrap. It doesn’t fly.