Empowering Young Latinas Through the Girl Scouts

           Today the House of Representatives passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a couple of weeks after the Senate passed the bill, now sending it to the President to be reauthorized. I mentioned in a previous post that this act offers resources to women who arevictims of violence. This act is certainly necessary, but I sometimes feel disappointed that we often put resources toward the treatment of problems, rather than focusing on prevention of the problems in the first place. Educational programs for men about using means other than physical violence to get what they want, and how to respect women could certainly go a long way. Programs that empower women and young girls would also be a great step in the right direction.
          Thankfully, there is one such group that empowers young girls that is quite high profile in general, but especially at this time of year. They do not rely on government funding, but perhaps our tax dollars would be better invested in programs like it-then they would not have to sell so many cookies to make ends meet. Because of those cookies, though, they are doing quite well for themselves and are teaching young women and girls great skills through their sales. If you have not guessed by now, I am talking about the Girl Scouts.

I typically buy a few boxes of cookies each year in January, to have them delivered around this time in late February. It seems that there is always a friend, a relative, or a coworker with a daughter who can hook me up with some Samoas or Tagalongs. This year I am lucky to have a Daisy in the house, the entry level Girl Scouts, and she is my six-year old daughter. 

Having a daughter has done a lot to raise my consciousness about gender and equity issues for females, which explains my last few posts. Not that I was completely unenlightened before, but I did grow up in a house with two brothers, and my father is one of nine boys (with one sister), and my mom likewise lived in a male dominated house (at least in numbers, with four brothers and a sister). So, I was not the most sensitive guy in the world, but thinking about opportunities and the safety of my own daughter quickly changed that. While, unintentionally, our daughter has become quite “girly” I am always happy to encourage her dreams and pursuits that don’t fit into traditional gender roles, such as playing soccer, being an astronaut, or playing with blocks.

The wonderful thing about the Girl Scouts, Brownies, and Daisies is that they empower young girls, but still reward them for being girls. This newfound admiration and cookie season led me to do a little research and I learned that they provided a great opportunity for girls in general, but that they are also great about empowering young girls of color, especially Latinas, my self-identified Mexican daughter included. 

First, a little history. Juliet “Daisy” Gordon Low, an upper class woman from Georgia was in an unhappy marriage with a philandering husband, who while perhaps not physically abusive, was certainly emotionally and financially abusive to Daisy. After his death in 1905 she assumed that she would have been left as an heir as they were still legally married, despite the fact that he had a live-in girlfriend and relegated Daisy to the servant’s quarters. But her husband left her nothing. Daisy was able to make it on her own and after meeting the founder of the Boy Scouts, she had the idea of creating a similar organization to serve young girls.  So, as I wrote previously in my VAWA post about immigrant and Latina women who experience abuse or at least a lack of respect by their macho husbands, the Girl Guides, as they were originally called had roots in issues that touch Latinas. 

As the media often does special interest stories on the Girl Scouts because of cookie season I learned of a couple of other connections between the organization and Latinas. One is the fact that the organization is currently headed by Anna Maria Chavez, a woman of Mexican-descent, who was enrolled in the Girl Scouts as a youngster by her mother, who saw it as an opportunity to help her excel in school. Now as CEO she gives back to young girls of all backgrounds, serving as a role model for all, but especially for those of Hispanic origin. A second Latina connection, also out of Arizona, is the all-time cookie selling record holder, 10 year-old Mary Ruiz, who was featured in the New York Times, and who sold over 5000 boxes of cookies last year. 

So, while I am happy that the VAWA was passed today, I am even happier that great work is being done by the 101 year old girl scouts; perhaps with their support we can have more female legislators and even our first Latina senator rise from their ranks to create a society where that type of act is no longer needed.