How to rethink Girl Scout cookie season
The secret’s out: I was a Girl Scout.
From age 5 till about 17, I spent my free time learning new skills to get badges, going on hikes and camping trips, and giving my time to the less fortunate.
But the world knows the Girl Scouts for something much more exciting: cookies.
Around this time of year each year, the Girl Scouts start popping up on our front porches, outside our neighborhood grocery stores, and maybe even in our workplaces, using their parents as proxy salespeople. These little entrepreneurs are just trying to earn a badge or win their troop’s coveted prize for selling the most boxes.
But some adults see them as worrisome.
Worries about detouring from their strict food regimens, sticking to their New Year’s resolutions, or avoiding sweets during the Christian fasting period of Lent.
Rather than give you tips about how to avoid these sugar-pushers, how to keep your head down when they’re trying to get your attention, and how to make it through this time of year unscathed, I’m going to offer ways to reframe your thoughts around Girl Scout cookie season, and how to help the next generation see it—and the act of consuming cookies—as inconsequential.
Problems with Girl Scout cookie season
What used to be an exciting time for me (and millions of other Girl Scouts over the years) can become a season of dread once you reach adulthood. Just like the adults before us, we are taught to abhor this time of year, to say things like, “OK, I’ll only take one box because I’m trying to be good/they’re too tempting,” all while completely unaware of the sponge-like quality of the young ears around us.
By assigning negative values to cookies, we’re establishing them as something to be feared, something we have to earn, and/or something we need to punish ourselves for eating. In this way, we communicate to young people that sweets are the enemy and that even though we agree to purchase them, we’re somehow “in trouble” or “being bad” for doing so.
Why this is harmful for Girl Scouts
What seems lighthearted and well-intentioned can be harmful to minds that can’t detect sarcasm or can’t distinguish what’s true versus what’s meant to be a joke.
Think about yourself as a young child—the excitement you used to feel around eating delicious food. The anticipation you felt waiting for dessert to finish baking in the oven. With just a few words, adults have the power to take away that joy.
We don’t come into the world fearing sweets; instead, we’re taught to fear them by diet culture, and we’re taught that indulging in them is wrong.
Some young girls may already be experiencing body insecurity, so engaging in this type of talk can only confirm their insecurities.
Read more about how to tell the difference between diet and disordered.
What not to say when buying Girl Scout cookies
If you choose to buy cookies from Girl Scouts this year, take a moment to pause and think about the language you use when you speak with them. Diet talk has become so common that we often don’t even know we’re using it. To help spot diet talk, here are a few examples of what it looks like, plus tips for what to say instead.
When you interact with Girl Scouts, try to refrain from:
mentioning the calorie or fat content of the cookies
saying they’re too tempting or you can’t keep them in your house because you’re afraid you’ll lose control
labeling the cookies as “bad” foods and describing compensatory behaviors you’ll need to engage in after eating them*
When we label food as good vs. bad, we then assign these attributes to ourselves if and when we eat it.
But food actually has no inherent value.
*If you’re thinking and feeling some of these concerns around Girl Scout cookies or sweets in general, it might be worth exploring where these thoughts come from and what effect they’re having on your daily life. Use the writing prompt at the end of this post to write out some of these thoughts.
What Girl Scout cookie season should be about
Rather than demonizing something that is supposed to be a positive experience, it’s worth reminding ourselves what this time of year—when Girl Scouts sell cookies—should be about.
Entrepreneurship
Selling cookies might be some girls’ first experience with entrepreneurship and business. The act of selling cookies can help develop skills like leadership, communication, math, and organization.
Empowering young women
Practicing the skills mentioned above helps prepare young girls for the future in education, business, or any other path they choose to take.
Enjoying yummy food
Cookies are delicious. And it’s OK to say that.
Doing so doesn’t mean we need to eat them with abandon or buy 100 boxes from the Girl Scouts down the street. But in labeling them as something we “can’t keep in the house” because we’re afraid of temptation, we’re giving them power over us, power that they don’t have. Because they’re just…cookies.
So what if we do something radical…what if we enjoy eating them? What would it look like to take a bite and feel pleasure about what we’re tasting? The texture, the sweetness, the crunch, or the way our teeth sink into softer cookies.
This season, if you’re so inclined, I invite you to explore what it might look like to take back this power and redefine the role sweets play in your life….all while giving back to the next generation of women.
Pause & Prompt
When I have (insert food) in my house, I feel…
