I don't get your position slip. On one thread you seem quite open to transgendered people, then on this thread you reduce it down to lazy/bad parenting. You think it's ok for a transgendered person to compete in kickboxing with people of their current gender, but then you think it's bad for a parent to let their boy join girl scouts??
I don't think this kid is transgendered. Nothing in that article makes it sound like he is. I think this is just a case of a boy wanting to go with his sister to a youth group that happens to cater for girls.
I'm not sure why these organisations still exist, aren't we past the whole gender segregationist thing?
IMO the writer should have included more information...how long has his 'girl' issue been going on? If he was like this ever since he was old enough to understand the concepts of boy and girl I'd assume he was transgender but here there really isn't enough information to take a guess either way.
I don't think it's gender segregation in the same sense as racial segregation. The Scouts are mostly about developing boys doing things around developing boys, and developing girls doing things around developing girls. Learn a bunch of skills, go out into nature, and get an idea of civic duty and possibly some leadership skills. I've never gotten the sense it was anything sinister.
I'm trying to find more information about this and I don't see anything about a sister. It's clear, however, that his name is different from his mom's last name. I'm not going to open certain cans of worms on this, but I think it's safe to say, at the very least, the boy may be having to adjust to a divorce or separation issue between his parents. And I've seen boys playing with girl's toys on playgrounds when my kids are playing and I'd hardly classify those kids as "transgender" because of it. Sometimes, a toy is just a toy. Something about this story is very weird and makes it seem like this boy is caught up in something that's not necessarily healthy.
That indicates a notion that boys and girls are so different that they can't develop alongside one another. It's not sinister, it's just the way things used to be done.
That's not an attitude I've ever encountered or heard of with the Scouts. It's well known that social inclusion occurs at school. The Scouts are an extracurricular activity that people can choose, or not choose. Do you see something unhealthy about a father encouraging his son to go learn a bunch of skills around boys, or a mother encouraging her daughter to go learn a bunch of skills around girls? Again, co-ed inclusion is already occuring at school and/or church.
I think it furthers the idea that boys and girls shouldn't mix. There is no good reason why boys and girls can't be part of the same youth group, letting them pick the activities they want to do. If a girl wants to do an activity otherwise dominated by boys, she should be allowed to, and vice versa.
I don't have a problem with that unless it creates problems for the kids. But I think that it could create problems for the kids and maybe even more rejection or possibility of rejection for the boy involved. If you're not familiar with the badges boys and girls are going for in the Scouts, here are some lists:
And there are other options for kids to have co-ed experiences. Here in the States, there's also the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. So it's not like there aren't other options available that wouldn't be anywhere near as controversial as trying to get a boy into the Girl Scouts. He goes to public school without any problems other than getting his feelings hurt.
What I don't understand is why boys and girls need to be separated in today's world. This whole Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts issue just shouldn't exist any longer. Let kids be kids and let them all play and learn together. Who knows maybe we'd actually produce a generation of men and women who can treat each other as equals.
I definitely agree. I can see where boys would give him a hard time if he's into girl's things and presents himself as a girl. But trying to segregate him into a girls only environment could backfire. I've known of boys who've had big sisters, who went through similar stages, and then ended up perfectly "normal." Once the hormones really started kicking in, they looked back and laughed about it. But to label them as "transgender" at the time, and then expect them to live that way from that point forward, that's a parenting issue. This type of issue has been going on for a long time, so it's not like a parent couldn't ask the pediatrician about it, pick up a book, or surf the web and figure it out.
If the mother was really looking out for her son's best interests, it seems like the boy would be visiting with a therapist and not being placed in the center of a controversy. People don't like having things forced upon them. And I know I wouldn't want to be in that boy's shoes (I'd look terrible in women's strappy boots) if I had to go into that environment because my mom thew a hissy fit.
Yep. Once upon a time for example being a 'tomboy' for a girl was normal. Nowadays they could well end up labeled transgender - yet the overwhelming majority of them were not!
People are WAY too quick to medicalize or pathologize perfectly normal behaviours.
I can see your point. There are probably any number of merit badges available in the Boy Scouts that girls might like to earn. I suppose they could just make it "The Scouts of America." But there's a pretty cool socialization element that happens when you only have to worry about being a boy, and not about not picking your nose or not farting in front of girls. And being out in the woods camping, things are a lot less complicated when it's only boys. It's not comparable to racial segregation. It has more to do with male bonding and mentorship and figuring out male socialization without the distraction of girls when your hormones might be starting to activate.
On the girl's side, can't really speak about that, but I'm hoping it's probably the same. Seems like there are plenty of happy Girl Scouts out there.
I've known so many tomboys, I can't even imagine them tolerating being respected, and I do mean respected, as being anything other than 100% girl/woman!
I guess people are forgetting about the K.I.S.S. principle.
Because we as a society can't accept androgyny. Remember that couple who said they were going to raise their kid without gender? Mix of colours, mix of toys, etc? They got torn to shreds by the media for it.