A movement opposing the Girl Scouts of the USA’s policy on transgender children has been gaining momentum. The web-based group, HonestGirlScouts, asks that people show their disapproval of the Girl Scouts for accepting transgender children into their troops.

A video on YouTube shows Taylor, a 14-year-old ex-Girl-Scout who asks people boycott the traditional Girl Scout cookies. The admission of a seven-year-old transgender child into a Colorado troop last October sparked the controversy. On Dec. 14, the Christian Post reported that three Girl Scout troops in Louisiana disbanded due to transgender inclusion.

The Girl Scouts accept anyone who identifies as a girl and don’t require proof of gender. Given that the group’s mandate is one of inclusivity and acceptance it’s appropriate that Girl Scouts treat all girls the same way.

The movement to boycott the sale of cookies promotes discrimination against transgender children. Those in favour of the boycott argue that having transgender children integrated into female troops presents a security threat, but this is alarmist thinking.

It’s a doubtful assumption, likely based in ignorance of what it means to be transgender. To be transgender isn’t to follow a passing whim, but to actualize an identity that can be felt but not immediately seen. To be transgender isn’t to act a certain way, it’s to be a certain way.

The presence of transgender children in a troop could result in discussion about the complexities of gender and identity among families, and greater integration would lead to greater acceptance.

While it’s no one’s right to decide when or how a parent broaches complex subjects with their children, transgender people exist, and that’s the reality.

Asking Girl Scouts to label each member’s gender is problematic. It means that children might be singled out when they hoped to be quietly integrated — something they’re entitled to do.

Girl Scouts is built on the assumption that girls act differently together than they do with boys, and gain from bonding with girls alone. Maybe it’s time to rethink this principle. Girls Scouts should adapt their philosophy to fit a modern world, one where the gender binary is challenged.

The anti-transgender movement aimed at Girl Scouts is on shaky ground and deserves the criticism it has received in popular media.

Girl Scouts has a mission statement to teach girls to “relate to others with increasing understanding, skill and respect,” and admitting transgender children to the group does exactly that.