Taking Risks on an Island: Queer Kids Going to Camp

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Abstract

This presentation focuses on a three-year ethnography of a summer leadership camp for queer, trans, and allied youth. The presentation participants will include campers (15-19), camp leaders (youth 19-25), as well as the researcher who acted as an adult resource leader. The study explores the impacts of camp attendance for youth campers, youth cabin leaders, adult resource leaders and camp administration, including: 1) What are the effects and implications ofcamp attendance for youth, youth team leaders and community participants? 2) How do participants define homophobia and heterosexism across myriad racial and cultural contexts, and in what ways might camp help them work against, respond to, or think about these issues in the space of camp, and as they return to their communities? 3) What the impacts of diverse, intergenerational exposure for campers and adults involved with camp? The presentation will focus on the above questions, as well as discuss the ways in which this public ethnography highlights the recursive nature of the research, activism and community involvement. The camp is funded by the University of British Columbia and is led by a community-based advisory council The youth themselves are both a part of the voices of the ethnography and creators of knowledge that reaches beyond academic discourse to address the needs and concerns of LGBT youth and adults and inform educational and curricular policy at the K=12 and higher education level.

Sub Unit

• Presidential Session

Chair

• Lisa W. Loutzenheiser, The University of British Columbia

Participants

• Lisa W. Loutzenheiser, The University of British Columbia

• Nico McCay, Campout

• Leroy Wan, Campout

• Joshua Ongcol, Campout

• Gillian Wong, Campout