By Amelia Hegsted, age 14
It is no secret that WriCampia is a pretty queer-friendly space, but as a first-time camper I wanted to know just how queer-friendly it was. To learn more, I conducted two surveys. In my first survey, I asked three questions: what is your age, are you queer, and if you are queer, what do you identify as? I found that out of the 86 people who took the first survey:
- 22.1% were 13 years old.
- 68.6% of them identified as queer.
- and 31.2% of participants identified as bisexual.
As for the second survey, I found that:
- 30.4% of the 79 campers that participated came out at age 12.
- 100% of the campers who took the survey said they viewed WriCampia as a queer-friendly space,
- and that 68.4% of campers felt that they felt safe being “out” at WriCampia.
My next step was to interview Yael Schick, one of WriCampia’s directors. “Can you talk a little bit about WriCampia as a queer-friendly space?” I asked. I’ve compiled her responses into a list:
- Having a space for queer campers has always been a value.
- Queerios were the OG queer campers (The original Plus elective).
- We want queer people to be able to express themselves.
- Queer campers have always been a part of WriCampia.
- If queer campers are discriminated against, it will be resolved and taken seriously.
“We are very camper driven so we listen to campers,” Yael said. I think Yael makes wonderful points, it is obvious that WriCampia is a safe and welcoming environment for queer campers.
Instructor Lizz, was my next interviewee. “I think it’s safe to say that a lot of our campers are queer,” they said. “I think queer doesn’t just mean gay vs straight; it’s anything that falls outside of the norm, including gender expression, romantic expression, etc.” Lizz leads Plus, the affinity group for queer campers and allies at WriCampia. “Plus is really a space that the campers make it. It’s a space where if you just want to come to talk, someone is there to talk to you. It’s a place to unwind, have fun, and also a place to be with people you feel seen by.”
To end, I attended two Plus night electives. It was movie night, and the energy in the Field House was so warm and welcoming. We watched The Half of It, a movie that follows a queer coming of age story and modern Cyrano de Bergerac retelling. We all sat around in front of the screen the projector cast its image onto, feeling safe in the presence of one another. We even shared some laughs on the second night, when our audio cut out, and we had to listen to the last part of the movie from the computer’s speakers. Plus is an essential part of the wonderful community that is part of why WriCampia is the camp we love so much.
