“As the publisher of Justine (and a former Girl Scout), I am thrilled to once again partner with the Girl Scouts of the USA in our R.E.A.L. Girl contest.  These remarkable, energetic, aspirational leaders who give back to their communities through the Girl Scout program are to be commended and celebrated…and what better way than to make on a cover girl!” -Jana Kerr Pettey, Publisher and Editorial Director of Justine Magazine.

The launch event took place on Wednesday, September 1 at 2:00 p.m. EST at the Girl Scout Headquarters in New York, N.Y. and was attended by Girl Scouts from the greater New York City area.

This fun teen event showcased a teen fashion show featuring Girl Scouts as models; a teen issues author panel including young-adult authors Alyssa Sheinmel and Sarah Mlynowski, Dr. Robyn Silverman and Jacqueline Wales; and a special guest appearance by 18-year-old rising country artist Katie Armiger (also a former Girl Scout).

The guests were treated to goody bags filled with merchandise from such companies as Celebrity Pink Jeans, Kmart, Scholastic Books, ABC Family, Zapzyt, Vivendi Entertainment, Random House Books and The Academy NYC –A Paul Mitchell Partner School, among others.”

So do you know a R.E.A.L  girl?!  We’d love to hear about her so let us know!

Let’s take a step back.  Here are the facts from the GSRI:

60% of teenage girls compare their bodies to fashion models. Body dissatisfaction can result from this comparison, and leads to serious health problems, such as unhealthy eating and dieting habits.

55% admit they diet to lose weight, and 

31% admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.

Less than 1/3  of all speaking characters in children’s movies are female.  Women and girls continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles in the media.

So if these are the facts, and beauty is being defined by fashion models, then where do we come in? What does this mean?  It’s pretty obvious that there are significant detrimental situations occurring from our lack of knowledge when it comes to the definition of beauty; and this lack of knowledge has a negative effect not just for those girls and women, but for the boys and men, too.

• For Women:  Competition over narrow beauty standards and attention from boys also damages girls’ friendships, which can have serious health consequences since their relationships are crucial to their social and emotional health
• For Men: Sexualized messages and images of girls and women also negatively impact boys. These negative effects include boys’ developing unrealistic and unhealthy expectations of girls’ and women’s physical appearance, and may impair their ability to develop healthy relationships with girls and women.

No one wants to consider the negative effects media has on our society – but if we don’t… where will we be in just a few years?  So the question is: What does beauty look like?  Does it look like the super-thin girl on the cover of a magazine with too much make-up and airbrushed legs?  We, here at Girl Scouts, think not.

GSUSA has recently launched the It’s Your Story journey.  This journey gives girls the opportunity to spend time discovering who they are, what they believe true beauty looks like and having the chance to address the issues of body image in the media in relation to their own self-esteem. 

You can check out more information about the It’s Your Story journey, Girl Scouts or the Dove Self Esteem Fund and watch videos from the 4 truly beautiful (inside and out), plus-sized models from Wilhelmina Models by visiting: www.girlscouts.org/itsyourstory

Check it out, see what you think and then tell us how you feel about beauty!

What is true beauty?  How do YOU define it?  Let us know!

-Morgan Coffey

National Young Woman of Distinction

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta

Check out Morgan’s personal blog here!

Referenced: Girl Scouts of the USA and Beauty Redefined: Girls and Body Image Survey (2010)

So how does that affect Girl Scouts?  Well, there are three Girl Scouts who are serving as delegates for Vision 2020, a national project of the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership at Drexel University, focused exclusively on advancing gender equality by energizing dialogue about women and leadership!  These women will work to develop and launch an agenda to move America towards gender equality by 2020 – which is also the centennial celebration of the 19^th amendment!

GSUSA’s National President Connie L. Lindsey was chosen as a national delegate, representing Illinois.  GSUSA says about Lindsey: “Since her appointment in 2008, she has provided guidance in three vital areas—policy, fund-raising, and management. Connie is an integral part of the Girl Scout transformation, committed to building and sustaining membership growth and ensuring girls receive a premier leadership development experience.”

Morgan Coffey from Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, was chosen as a national delegate, representing Georgia, for her work with Stronghold Cooperative Ministries (Stronghold Atlanta – a resource center for women and children who have been victims of domestic violence).  Coffey currently serves GSUSA as a National Girl Consultant and a National Young Women of Distinction.

Natalia Thompson from Girl Scouts of Black Hawk Council, has also been selected as a national delegate, representing Wisconsin.  Thompson currently serves GSUSA as a National Girl Consultant and a 2008 National Young Woman of Distinction.

“I salute Connie, Morgan, and Natalia for joining this significant conversation to advance the leadership of girls and women throughout the United States,” said Kathy Cloninger, CEO of GSUSA. “Their voices will bring tremendous value to this national dialogue on women and gender equality.”

So what do you think?  Do these issues need revised sight?  Do they need to be seen in 20/20 vision as an equal playing field?  Can it be done by 2020?

-Morgan Coffey

National Young Woman of Distinction

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta

Check out Morgan’s personal blog here!

So what is Camp CEO?

Camp CEO brought together 23 high school girls from the Greater Atlanta council and 23 Executive Women from Atlanta to create teams of mentors and mentees for one week!  The participants did team building activities and the girls participated in a program called ‘Dreaming Your Future’.  The girls were able to learn about life lessons from each of the women who volunteered their time and energy to be mentors.

Marilyn Midyette, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta said in the AJC, “We knew Camp CEO was going to be an incredible opportunity for these young women, but the results exceeded our greatest expectations.  While the girls received significant insights into successful leadership, I believe the executive were surprised by how much they learned form the girls.  They’re already planning reunions, while we’re already planning the 2011 camp.”

Helping girls realize their dreams, and showing them the attainability of those dreams, has always been a large part of Girl Scouts mission which is to: build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.  It is no doubt that for these girls who have dreams like to become a U.S. Supereme Court Justice or goals to run their own non-profit, Girl Scouts has made an impact.  Girl Scouts has helped these girls to become courageous, confident and have great character that will help them to make the world a better place both today and in the future.

Camp CEO Mentors and Mentees

Do you know of a Girl Scout who has made an impact within her community?  We’d love to hear about her!  Leave a comment  

-Morgan Coffey

National Young Woman of Distinction

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta

Check out Morgan’s personal blog here!

“Cyberbullying is not just a phase or behavior in which kids will be kids,” Napolitano told the panel chaired by U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). “Cyberbullying poses serious consequences to the health and safety of all children.”

Dominique was among a core group of Girl Scouts who helped develop LMK (http://lmk.girlscouts.org), a leading online safety Web site developed by Girl Scouts in collaboration with Microsoft’s Windows division. The site is unique because it is designed to cover such topics as cyberbullying, online sexual predators and cybersecurity from the perspective of young people. Twenty-three Girl Scouts working with Internet safety expert Parry Aftab have developed the online safety tips and advice for parents and young boys and girls.

In addition to Dominique, the panel heard testimony from syndicated talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw, as well as Aftab, who contributed to the LMK Web site, and educators from around the country.

“I know from my experience that kids don’t always think that adults understand their issues or get technology,” Dominique said. “So we need to empower youth to take this problem into our own hands and find solutions that work for us. I feel that I’ve had that experience through Girl Scouts, my youth group, and in school, but far too many kids don’t get that chance.”

Her testimony drew media coverage in newspapers and television stations. A story appears in the Boston Herald, and Dominique’s testimony is available on YouTube.

You can also check out photos of Dominique at the hearing at the Wall Street Journal.

This research prompted Girl Scouts of the USA to work closely with Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to develop the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925). This bill supports media literacy programs and youth empowerment groups, facilitates research on how images of women and girls impact youth, and establishes a National Taskforce on Women and Girls in the Media to develop voluntary standards that promote healthy, balanced, and positive images of girls and women.

The importance of this bill is best summarized by the father of a Daisy Girl Scout from Colorado, who is “happy to see that GSUSA has put its support behind the bipartisan supported Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925). Our kids are assaulted every day with negative images of girls and women and H.R. 4925 can help combat this. Thank you very much for always thinking of our precious girls first!”

So how can you get involved and help out?  Girl Scouts is now seeking Congressional cosponsors for the bill. Join the Girl Scout Advocacy Network, www.girlscouts4girls.org, today to send a letter to your member of Congress asking them to sign on to the bill and be a Voice for Girls!