Girl Scouts' Inclusion Of Bobby Montoya, 7-Year-Old Transgender Child, Prompts Troops To Disband

A Colorado-based Girl Scouts troop's decision to admit a 7-year-old transgender child this fall has prompted three leaders to resign and dissolve their troops.

As The Christian Post is reporting, all three of the troop leaders were affiliated with the Northlake Christian School in Covington, Louisiana.

Susan Bryant-Snure, one of the leaders who resigned, told The Baptist Press that the Girl Scouts' action is "extremely confusing" and an "almost dangerous situation" for children. "This goes against what we [Northlake Christian School] believe," said Bryant-Snure, who has three daughters among the 25 girls who had been active scouts there.

The controversy began when Felisha Archuleta protested against a Denver troop's decision to not initially allow her transgender daughter, Bobby Montoya, to join the group. "I believe he was born in the wrong body," Archuleta, who also confessed to having difficulty switching from male to female pronouns when discussing her child, told ABC. "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."

The Girl Scouts of Colorado subsequently released a statement through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) in support of Archuleta and her excluded daughter, noting, "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."

Added Rachelle Trujillo, vice president for communications of the Colorado Girl Scouts: "If a child is living as a girl, that's good enough for us. We don't require any proof of gender."

Bryant-Snure and her fellow leaders are now expected to align themselves with the American Heritage Girls, a Christian organization that was founded in 1995 in response to the Girl Scouts' decision to let scouts use a word other than "God" in their pledge, according to She Wired.

Watch CNN's report on Bobby Montoya below:

Comments

[Basil Burnstein]

04:19 PM on 05/02/2012

How did anyone, aside from his parents, know that he was a boy? Bobby is a neutral name... if he carries himself as a girl and he's only seven... how did they know?

[BooBoo Bob]

06:47 PM on 02/05/2012

Good. The Girl Scouts didn't need the bigots, anyway.

[voiced]

07:33 PM on 01/21/2012

" The Girl Scouts of Colorado subsequently released a statement through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) in support of Archuleta and her excluded daughter "

I never realized that the Girl Scouts of America are a supporter of the pro-homosexual movement. When did this happen? Bet you that most Americans don't know this fact either.

Child Protection Services should be called in to assess the mother's complicity in this child's distorted sense of self. Criminal action should be taken against the mother for child abuse and her obvious disregard for the well-being of this young boy.

[DanaLane]

01:03 PM on 01/24/2012

I would laugh if I didn't realize you were serious. First off, being trans has nothing to do with being homosexual. Secondly, ignorance can be cured unless it is willful. Hugs.

[BooBoo Bob]

06:49 PM on 02/05/2012

The Girl Scouts have always been open and tolerant, unlike the Boy Scouts which are, frankly, a cult. Your ignorance does not make them a bad organization though, so you should be thankful for that.

[Altemeus]

05:13 AM on 01/13/2012

The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are unique from most childhood groups in that they are a social gathering and learning point for the children aiming to develop them into adulthood. The child should not be forced to stray from both because he can't be fully claimed as one or the other, and lets face it... He'd could be more estranged from a Boy Scouts troop. A transgender child will likely need the guidance more than most.

That being said, there are guys that start off enjoying barbies and grow out of the phase into straight individuals. If the barbies and his scrawny appearance are all they are basing this off of, the parent(s) may want to reconsider treating him like a girl to save confusion when he does start developing.

[ellexmarie]

05:44 PM on 03/19/2012

"That being said, there are guys that start off enjoying barbies and grow out of the phase into straight individuals."

Transgender...I do not think it means what you think it means. Please look up the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity before commenting again. You seem to mean well, but unfortunately you don't understand the subject. Being transgender is not the same as being gay or straight. At all.

[Altemeus]

11:13 PM on 03/20/2012

I do realize what it means, and it is not incorrect to say they would need more guidance than most. This article is not about transgender children per se, though a similarly mocked group based on gender aspects, so after that sentence I split back to something more on topic: your quote on to the end of my post. Not that anyone will likely be reading this from months ago.

The point of mentioning transgender children is to have a mention of someone with stronger needs than the average child, even moreso than those with traits of the opposite gender that are not based on anatomy. What ratio of the anatomy should be present in a boy/girl scout? Is that what even counts? Both are questions brought up by this article.

However, we are now getting into a post length that is unfavorable. A point this complex needs a short allusion to it to introduce the thought, but not overbear it so that the reader skips over it.

[Michael Rowe]

10:13 PM on 01/12/2012

Bobby Montoya is a very lucky girl to have a mother like the one she does. Bravo, bravo, bravo.

[BooBoo Bob]

06:50 PM on 02/05/2012

I already have a TON of cookies ordered. :)

[wardropper]

12:16 AM on 01/12/2012

I watched the video again.

It's the mom's agenda.
A wholly adult agenda, leaving very little room for little Bobby to breathe and be him/herself.
Bobby has learned all the correct terminology for his "condition" from his mother, instead of just growing up like any other child - innocent of adult hangups.

Poor kid.

I have more sympathy for the posters here using the word "abuse" than I did when I first read them.

[BooBoo Bob]

06:52 PM on 02/05/2012

Oh, good lord. Don't you think that little Bobby has a say in this. She wants to join the Girl Scouts, she knows that she IS a she, regardless of her genitalia, and has a mom that is willing to stand up for her. That, right there, is the luckiest little girl in the world.

[wardropper]

12:04 AM on 01/12/2012

I can't understand why any child brought up in a reasonable environment would question their sexuality unless the parent(s) had brought the subject up themselves, or shared a tv program about it with a child at an inappropriate age.
After puberty, I can understand quite well how a person, especially a person looking for a close relationship which might involve sex, might not feel at home at all in the body they have ended up with.
But a child with boy's genitalia - assuming he has them all and they are normally developed - is by any definition a boy, and we should remember that part of EVERY child's development is simply getting used to the interesting body they are born with. If the parents are doing their bit, this doesn't involve the child worrying about it or spending hours meditating on it. Kids have plenty to do without wondering whether they're even human or not. They just are.
There's so much emphasis today on talking about things openly which many children are simply not equipped to handle - this is a matter for individuals, of course, but in some cases, quite unnecessary stress is introduced in some parent-child relationships because of this.
Bobby's case sounds like a sad one.
I wish him/her all the best, however it turns out.

[KaraC]

05:35 PM on 02/05/2012

I was raised in a totally normal environment, and know many other trans people who were the same. And you conflate sexual orientation with gender orientation which are not the same thing. Genitalia and brain gender align for the vast majority of people, but for some, they simply don't. Please read more about the subject - I am not saying that in a snide way. You may also wish to search for some of the papers on brain development, using terms such as INAH3, BSTc and "transgender", to see how some of the research seems to be showing that people really do have brains physically of the opposite gender to their bodies.

[devinkay]

08:36 AM on 02/11/2012

Whoever said ignorance is bliss must not have been on the receiving end of mindless misconceptions others held about their gender. My extremely homophobic military lifer father and pentecostal southern Baptist family expended a great deal of malice-tinged effort trying to convince me that I was a boy. I grew up pretty much despising the lot of them as well as myself and struggling to deal with the psychological baggage that sort of dysfunction breeds. Today, having made the transition, I'm happy, healthy and relatively successful, and I forgive them one and all for their profound and willful ignorance. Interestingly, but not terribly surprisingly, since my transition most of them have come around and now profess to accept and support, if not fully understand, transsexualism. Some folks are empathetic by nature, others need a house to fall on them before they're able to see beyond the end of their own nose. Only a rare few prefer wallowing in hatred more than expanding their understanding and adjusting their worldview. You sound to me to be bright enough and caring enough to want to do the right thing by others. Might I suggest you try learning a little about transsexualism before passing judgement? Peace.

[wardropper]

11:46 PM on 01/11/2012

Transgender really doesn't exist for children, since they are not developed sexually.

My best guess at the most sensible thing to do would be to get a specialist to confirm that ALL the boys' bits are there, and if so, then he's a boy. One might also ask him why he would want to be in an organization where everybody else is different from him.
After that he can decide whether the girl scouts is really what he wants, while his mom can also ask herself whether she is possibly trying to use him to make some kind of statement about sexuality in general.

There are plenty of activities for children where it doesn't matter one bit which sex you are. He could take up the violin or piano or painting, and if he likes groups, he could join various types of dancing.
And he could also just stay at home and read books on mathematics, if that's what he wants.
He can deal with his inner self when and if he falls in love. When he's that mature, his hormones will help out, and then some realistic options will be open to him, as long as he doesn't move to Texas or something… not that I know much about Colorado…

[KaraC]

05:36 PM on 02/05/2012

You're confusing sexuality with gender again. You knew when you were around 4 or 5 that you were male, yet you were not sexually aware or active, I presume. Many of us trans people know from the same age that our body and brain genders do not match.

[ellexmarie]

06:31 PM on 03/19/2012

...or about being transgender apparently. Please do not continue to spread this misinformation and educate yourself. You certainly have the right to your own opinion, but that doesn't make your statements any less inflammatory or hurtful. I'm not trying to attack you, but this post is really disheartening.

Being transgender and being gay are not the same thing. Sexual orientation is about sexual attraction. This article is about gender identity. "Sex" and "gender" are sometimes used interchangeably, but they're actually distinct concepts. To use your terminology, sex is about what type of "bits" you have. Gender is a social construct. For example, I'm biologically female (born w/a vagina, uterus, etc.). I don't identify with the female gender though; I'm androgynous.

I was a Girl Scout for 16 years. Should I have not wanted to be? When I was in middle and high school, all the girls in my troop were white (I'm black), almost all were straight (I'm gay), and they all were Methodists (I was in a church very similar doctrinally to the Jehovah's Witnesses). Why did I want to be in an organization where everybody else was different from me? I don't know, maybe because it was fun? Maybe because the relationships were valuable? Maybe because we had common interests--a lot more in common than we appeared to on the surface? Maybe because being around those who are different than you is beneficial for everyone involved? (Hint: The answer is all of the above!)

[Richard August]

07:10 PM on 01/03/2012

Finally, the Girl Scouts are admitting that males and females have definite gender differences right down to their molecular structures. Why persons would become transgendered or transsexual is difficult to tolerate.

Both major Scouting organizations must now demand:

1. Proof of gender for members and leaders

2. Full criminal and personal background checks on all adults in their organizations

3. That leaders be of the same exact gender as the members

4. That basic life skills, basic hunting and camping skills, and basic religious, moral, and social values be taught

5. That any discussion of sex and gender must be frank and open, and limited to direct comparison to the nuclear family consisting of one male husband and his female wife and their children.

6. That membership must be exclusive and limited to appropriate gender and age. For example, an 8-year-old girl can never join Cub Scouts, and a 14-year-old boy cannot join Girl Scouts.

7. That opposing views must be respected and exposed but not entertained.

[Bigotry patrol]

12:43 AM on 01/04/2012

"Why persons would become transgende­red or transsexua­l is difficult to tolerate."

Why persons would become bigots is also difficult to tolerate.

[jchandjd]

08:20 PM on 01/10/2012

What is difficult to tolerate is hate speech disguised as "Christian" beliefs.

[StrawHat]

08:20 PM on 12/31/2011

Dear moderators: you need to find a better way to do your very difficult task of winnowing through actually abusive posts, and posts that zealots gang up on in order to silence dissenting voices.

You're letting "popular" abusive posts through, while moderating "unpopular" non-abusive posts.

[Bigotry patrol]

12:38 AM on 01/04/2012

Zealots? Just wow.

[Valerie Keefe]

03:17 AM on 01/11/2012

Here's a good barometer: If you make an accusation regarding another poster's mental health without the kind of evidence that would give you cover in a defamation suit, it's going to get removed.

If you deliberately refuse to use someone's preferred name, pronouns, honourifics? It's going to get removed.

If you post something blatantly disingenuous? I'll mock you for it, but it seems to stay up.

[iamone3]

01:04 AM on 12/28/2011

He`s probably enjoying all the attention he`s getting from his mother.

[Bob Alberti]

11:15 PM on 01/11/2012

Your mom's sure enjoying all the attention she's getting from me.

[lorileeky]

12:23 AM on 12/28/2011

If he feels like being a girl then let him...it won't hurt anything for him joining the Girl Scouts.

[jchandjd]

08:21 PM on 01/10/2012

Agreed, there is no reason he cannot join the Girl Scouts and the Girl Scouts organization confirms that.

[Hontas Farmer]

04:14 PM on 12/27/2011

The point of this is to allow Bobby Montoya to grow up without needing to feel shame frowning themself.

The kid isn't altering their life. No hormones or surgical procedures would be performed until they are at least 16. At most a reversible medication would be used to hold puberty off, even that is years away.

Studies show that kids like Bobby even when allowed to live out a female identity mostly grow up to be somewhat feminine gay (or bisexual) men. Some become transsexual women. A few even appear to be feminine straight men. How would shaming kids like those make the adults they will be any better off?

[kilthistle]

06:13 PM on 12/27/2011

To whom are you writing this comment? If you are addressing the thousands of medical and scientific professionals around the world who treat persons with GID, you are lucky to be anonymous. They might diagnose your condition and decide you need to be evaluated in a more formal psychiatric situation.

[kilthistle]

02:30 PM on 12/27/2011

It is now the standard of care to suspend puberty in GID children. Not to do so would be unethical. Here is an article in a medical ethics journal. But, I see your point, of what importance are reality and ethics when you have dogma and superstition to protect?

http://jme.bmj.com/content/34/8/580.short

[Deucejack]

09:07 AM on 12/28/2011

Any parent who allows doctors or asks doctors to "suspend puberty" in their child should be arrested for child abuse.

[Crash2Parties]

03:04 AM on 12/28/2011

On what are you basing calling it a "fact"? Your personal definition of "boy" and "girl"? Your own experience, one that is woefully unprepared to understand the condition? As it stands, your knowledge of the subject appears to be underwhelming.

Were you confused at her age as to whether you were a boy or girl? Neither is she. The greatest "burden" for trans kids when they reach puberty is having a body that develops the wrong way, toward the wrong adult shape and chemistry.

[Grant Parks]

12:04 PM on 01/12/2012

OK! WAIT! He does not need a personal definition. There is a medical, physical, common-sense reality. And the article is clear that both Bobby and his mother *are* confused. Boys have penises. Girls have vaginas. It was in Kindergarten Cop and that little boy understood it.
A boy that feels like a girl is just that, a *boy* that feels like a *girl*. An unfortunate condition, but millions of people have altered views of reality. Do we reshape the world for schizophrenics? Many, many people have conditions they were born with that make it harder for them to get along in the world. That used to bring character, now we bemoan it.
If one does not meet the requisite criteria for membership to a group, then they are not part of that group. I think this is all part of the lame philosophy that doomed the generations between the 80s and now -- let every child play, give the team trophies when they lose.

[Fenrir Lokison]

12:09 AM on 12/27/2011

Let me see if Huff is going to refuse to let my hypothetical questions go through and see if anyone will give a straight up yes and no answer with their explanation of their answer...

1. Private homeowner is having an all girl sleepover and wants to come over and wear his girlie nightwear stuff...Would you as the hosting parent allow this? What if it were another parent and all you knew was that Bobby from the same Girl Scout troop will be there...Do you let your daughter go?

2. Bobby and his parents decide to fight the school on allowing him to join the girl's basket ball team. Would you support that since he is a girl?

3. In order for Bobby not to feel different than the girls, should he be allowed to share the same locker room as the other girls at the same time they are changing or showering?

4. Should adult male transsexuals with their man bits be allowed to join ALL the same clubs and engage in ALL activities, even sharing the showers with other women at the same time?

5. How about having women who are good in basketball to go pros join the NBA? Or maybe join the male Olympic team?

I think if we are going to do this right and be fare, the Boy Scouts should change their policies and allow girls who live as boys, but physically are defined as girls.

[SaintSuelle]

12:57 AM on 12/27/2011

Part 1 (answering 1,2,3)
1. Easy, you already have defined a homeowner who self identifies (or you insist it is a 'he' (nobody knows which is 'okay' with you, except you have imposed a 'he' for the homeowner)); so, the answer is, simple: No, a self-identified male, wearing 'girlie' (your gendered words, not mine) clothes as 'host' to a girl sleep-over (vaginal ones only; or non-vaginal ones too? you don't clarify this at all; but suspicion is, you mean vaginal ones as being only 'real' girls). Whereas, if the answer were the homeowner was a real 'she' (vaginal or not), then my answer is a YES (regardless of what kind of 'girls' are there, vaginal or not). Key is, all self-identified girls are allowed to go, and only a self-identified FEMALE, can host; as I parent, I say YES, because such a host would not be wearing gendered 'girlie' clothes, just the clothes she is comfortable with!!! You cannot be hypocritical about what is 'girlie' (gendered) or not, when you refuse to accept gender at all, that is nothing to do with the anatomical sex of a child.
2. You already sabotage the question by disrespecting the child, Bobby and her parents, as being a 'he' and not a 'she'.
3. Ditto #2.

[Fenrir Lokison]

02:49 AM on 12/27/2011

2. So, I take it that yes, even though Bobby is medically a boy (meaning there is noting wrong with him physically), that you are willing to accept that he is a girl and thus should be allowed to join any girl groups he wants.

3. Ditto #2.

[SaintSuelle]

12:58 AM on 12/27/2011

Part 2 (answering 4 & 5.)
4.Male transsexual are natally vaginal (Müllerian not Wolffian) you ignoramus (I'm being factual, not abusive.) It is a fact, in Canada, in Toronto, there are 'Women Only Safe Spaces', and they INCLUDE Queer and Trans Women (not just Straight/Lesbian/Bi Women), where they can gather together and socialize (like men do in a 'Gay' bathhouse). Meaning Müllerians mixing with Wolffians (mixing sexes) albeit, all FEMALE GENDER.
5. Of course, but you know those who are least Testosterone sensitive will be least competitive (regardless of the sex of their bodies) even if the SAME Gender.

[Fenrir Lokison]

02:15 AM on 12/27/2011

You have been insulting for NO reason. And thus I have flagged you for being abusive.

With that said and being a bigger person than you...I will address your comments...

4. The word should of been transgendered...My mistake...And when I am talking transgendered I am talking about men and women who may or may not be homosexual and who are NOT looking to having the sex change operation done, but who still identify themselves as the opposite sex. And to make sure I am clear...The genitalia works. There is nothing wrong with them physically, but psychologically the are different.

5. I agree that if we are going to allow boys to dress like girls, even though they are working boy parts allow to join the Girl Scouts, then ALL transgenders should be allowed to join gender exclusive gatherings and organizations because they say the are one and even though their physical gender is different than their inside, they should be allowed to join.