Three days ago the Girl Scouts of Western Washington GSWW refused a donation of $100K because it came with the stipulation that none of the money be used to benefit transgender girls. That's old news by now.
That money would have been one third of the GSWW budget for the year, so GSWW started a campaign on indiegogo in an effort to replace it.
The campaign is called #ForEVERYGirl. In three days so far (28 days left) neearly 6000 donors have donated $286,820.
We're glad to announce that each additional $50,000 we raise will support 250 more girls. We expect 2,000 girls will request financial assistance over the next year—more than $400,000 total. So every gift, no matter what size, truly makes a difference.
Time to dab the tears away. There's more.
Every girl that is a Girl Scout is a Girl Scout because her parent or guardian brings her to us and says, ‘I want my child to participate.'” And I don’t question whether or not they’re a girl.
--Megan Ferland, GSWW
>blockquote>We’re so profoundly grateful that Girl Scouts of Western Washington are standing by their values to support all girls. It’s also mortifying that the donor withdrew this funding. It’s a clear example of how much bias and prejudice against transgender people still exists in our society.
--Danni Askini, Gender Justice League
It certainly is the case that for all people—transgender or otherwise—having people acknowledge the identity that you see yourself as having is very important. And feeling supported in who you are—in any aspect of any kid’s life—is going to make them feel better about themselves, do better in the world. So we have a lot of evidence that what we call social support is associated with much better outcomes for kids. And that seems to be especially true among transgender kids.
--Kristina Olson, University of Washington psychology professor
There’s a lot of violence and discrimination and prejudice against transgender people. So even if people know they’re transgender, they don’t always transition because of that prejudice and bias and discrimination. So the thing about Girl Scouts that’s so vital to all girls is that it’s about creating community and ending isolation.
--Askini
Olson is currently conducting a long term study on gender identity among young children. Among the more than 100 trans children her research has focused on in the last two years, 97 percent identified themselves as being the opposite gender than their sex would suggest between one and a half and three and a half years of age. “And that’s the same age that we see other kids who aren’t transgender identify their gender for the first time,” she says.