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Miranda Writes…
My Life Among the Scouts
by Miranda Stevens-Miller
2000-07-07

This article shared 1430 times since Fri Jul 7, 2000
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"The law is a ass, a idiot," observed Mr. Bumble in Dicken's Oliver Twist. The Supreme Court has proven that they are indeed the "Supreme Ass" by ignoring the obvious right and wrong in the Boy Scouts case, and deciding instead in favor of the letter of the law.

When I was very young, probably about 7 or 8 years old, I accompanied my older sister on a Girl Scout field trip to Washington, D.C. I was very happy to be with all the other girls, and looked forward to the time when I would be old enough to join the Girl Scouts myself. We had a blast touring the monuments to the great leaders of our country and the awe-inspiring chambers of the Capitol where all of our brilliant and powerful lawmakers created the foundations of justice.

As I got a little older, I realized that even though the Girl Scouts themselves were perfectly comfortable with me among their ranks, the Girl Scout organization was not. I never did get to be a Girl Scout, and never did get to wear my own little Girl Scout skirt and beret.

But I went on instead to become a Boy Scout. I was hoping that the same feeling of belonging would also be there among the boys. Those days I just wanted to go out camping ( in tents, not in drag ) , to learn to tie knots ( around tree limbs, not people limbs ) , and to commune with nature. The organization welcomed me with open arms, although the boys were a little more reluctant.

I always felt like an outsider, but I stayed with it and tried to succeed at being a good Boy Scout nevertheless. I never did reach the rank of Eagle Scout. Somewhere along the way I realized what a bunch of hypocrisy and bullshit the Scouting movement really was. But it took me too many years of feeling humiliated and unworthy before I could say "piss off" to those pissants that made up my troop.

Why all the humiliation? I have never talked to anyone about this before. You're the first. The other Boy Scouts left me out because I wouldn't engage in their mutual masturbation sessions. The top scouts, those who eventually made it up through the ranks of boy bureaucracy, were those who were able to cum the most often within a given time frame. This became their badge of honor, which they wore as proudly as any of the merit badges or medals that bedecked their young muscled chests.

I remember once when we were taking a cross-country bus trip, from Pennsylvania where I grew up, to New Mexico where the Boy Scout camp was located, the entire bus was consumed by the cumming contests. I don't remember whether the Scout Master was a willing participant, but at the very least he turned a blind eye to what was going on. He may have been the role model for all I know.

Probably many of you are thinking that this bus trip sounds like it was a little slice of heaven. What could be more fun than a circle jerk across the country? But for someone like me, a transgender youth who is just trying to figure out what gender she is, who is not at all comfortable with her own anatomy let alone everyone else's, who wouldn't dream of having someone touch her penis because it really shouldn't be there, this was a living hell.

No doubt, those boys were great kids, who probably grew up to be wonderful men. Youth is the time to explore one's sexual orientation. That's all they were doing, and they were doing it in a safe clean environment. The Boy Scouts were providing a great service by allowing and encouraging this type of experimentation. And I am sure that other troops were the same. These boys learned all the values of scouting, and probably are still the first ones to help little old ladies across the street. And they learned to be men, gay or straight.

Here's the irony of it all. According to the Supreme Court ruling, the Boy Scouts would have had every right in the world to boot those kids out.

On the other hand, I grew up to be a woman, and a lesbian. At the time, I was totally confused, and the Boy Scouts really let me down because they did not allow me the safety to explore my gender. I just felt lost. I should have been in the Girl Scouts.

But I fit in perfectly with the Boy Scout model according to the Supreme Court. At that time, I was presenting as a straight male-identified person. One whom the Boy Scouts would have said was "a role model for the values espoused by the Scout Oath and Law."

Once more the Boy Scouts have humiliated me. I am totally ashamed to ever have been taken in by such a homophobic and hypocritical organization.

MirandaSt1@aol.com


This article shared 1430 times since Fri Jul 7, 2000
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