As the father of a little girl and of one former Girl Scout, this has bothered me a bit. Just as my boys have been and are in Boy Scouts, I would like my daughter to be able to participate in some sort of scouting organization.
By my nature, I am someone who believes in following issues and supporting my beliefs on an issue to the best of my ability. Therefore, when I found out that the Girl Scouts of America were partners with Planned Parenthood, I did a little research and boycotted their cookies and anything else to do with them.
Now, if I am going to go so far as to boycott something, I want to make sure that I am standing on solid ground. So this year, as I saw a young girl selling her cookies in the back of the church this past weekend, I decided to dig a little more. What I found has loosened the ground a little bit.
Most of the data I found was at least two years old and much of it was thin, at best. It would seem that most of the items brought up is focused more on the organization called the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It is the international body, so to speak, of Girl Scout-type groups to which the Girl Scouts of America is a member. Much of the problem people have is with the things WAGGGS does. They are very heavy into the United Nations and very involved with bringing about international abortion rights, sex education in all it's forms, as well as LGBT issues. This organization also has close ties with International Planned Parenthood who provided it with much of its sexual education materials. I do know that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops looked into the alleged connection between GSA and Planned Parenthood in the Spring of 2012. I have not been able to find out the results of that inquiry.
GSA is also accused of pushing a very liberal agenda and not providing neutral materials in the books and resources available for earning badges. I am also adamantly against them allowing young boys into the organization just because they "identify" themselves as a girl. Sorry, but to me, you belong to the group that your parts say you belong to. At the ages I have seen this happening too, in my opinion, it is the parents trying to push their Liberal agenda.
What I have found, is that unlike the Boy Scouts, GSA does not control the lower echelons of the Girl Scouts as much as BSA does. Each Regional Council is allowed to do pretty much what it wants (like partner with a local Planned Parenthood), and each local troop operates pretty much on its own. It would appear to me, then, that the main issue is up above and not with the local troops. Many of the issues seem to arise when Girl Scouts participate in different conferences and such and they sponsor them. Unfortnately, this often places the Girl Scouts on the same advertisements as Planned Parenthood and other organizations that are not acceptable to many peoples' ideas of what young girls need to be involved in. It makes the Girl Scouts a de facto "co-sponsor" of an event with those other, less favorable organizations, even if the Girl Scouts have nothing to do with them.
How does someone like me allow my daughter to join Girl Scouts without completely laying waste to my principles? One way is to ensure that the local troop is teaching the lessons and earning badges with methods that are in keeping with my values. From what I have researched, that should not be difficult to do. Another way to hit the national GSA and WAGGGS organizations is to look at where the money is going from my local troop. One method is by subscribing to the method called "Just One Box", a means of Girl Scout Troops who do not like some of the policies of the national organization to still stay in "good standing" with GSA without filling the coffers with money. You can find more information here: http://www.honestgirlscouts.com/action_justonebox.html
I did come across one very helpful site that is called HonestGirlScouts.com. This is their mission statement: "Americans wanting explanations for how Girl Scouts spends the money we give, why it permits the promotion of explicit sexual education for children, and its presentation of Progressive radical ideas and curricula for our youth." They have some ideas for how girls can be a member of the Girl Scouts and not feel like they are supporting something they don't believe in.
I am not sure, yet, if my daughter will be a Girl Scout, but I do know I will stop promoting the boycott of the organization. I may, however, encourage people to be mindful of the involvement of their Regional Council as to whether it is in line with their own values and beliefs. And don't hold your breath waiting for me to purchase those cookies...I don't think I see that happening anytime soon.
